The Veterinary Record 159:547-551 (2006)
© 2006 British Veterinary Association
Clinical evaluation of firocoxib and carprofen for the treatment of dogs with osteoarthritis
M. Pollmeier, DrMedVet1,
C. Toulemonde, DVM2,
C. Fleishman, MStat3 and
P. D. Hanson, DVM, PhD3
1 Merial, Kathrinenhof Research Centre, Walchenseestrasse 8-12, D-83101
Rohrdorf, Germany
2 Merial, Parc Industriel de la Plaine de l'Ain, Allée des Cyprès,
01150 Saint-Vulbas, France
3 Merial, 3239 Satellite Boulevard, Duluth, GA 30096-4640, USA
A double-blind, randomised, controlled, multicentre field study was
conducted to compare the safety and efficacy of firocoxib chewable tablets and
carprofen tablets in 218 dogs with osteoarthritis. Firocoxib is a
non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug with more than 350-fold selectivity in
dogs for the inducible isoform of the enzyme cyclo-oxygenase-2. The efficacy,
tolerance and ease of administration of firocoxib (5 mg/kg/day) and carprofen
(4 mg/kg/day) were assessed by the owners and the attending veterinarians
during 30 days of treatment. The efficacy was assessed in terms of the dogs'
overall scores at the end of the treatment, based on the veterinarians'
assessment of lameness, pain on manipulation/palpation, range of motion, and
joint swelling; 92·5 per cent of the dogs treated with firocoxib and
92·4 per cent of the dogs treated with carprofen had improved. The
reduction in lameness in the dogs treated with firocoxib was significantly
greater than in the dogs treated with carprofen. The owners' evaluations were
that 96·2 per cent of the dogs treated with firocoxib and 92·4
per cent of the dogs treated with carprofen had improved, and this difference
was statistically significant.
Copyright © 2006 British Veterinary Association
