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. 2019 Jun 25;15(1):213.
doi: 10.1186/s12917-019-1960-3.

Safety and efficacy of reduced dosage ketoprofen with or without tramadol for long-term treatment of osteoarthritis in dogs: a randomized clinical trial

Beatriz P Monteiro  1 , Cedric Lambert  2 , Elena Bianchi  3 , Jean Pierre Genevois  2 , Giulio Soldani  3 , Eric Troncy  4
Affiliations

Safety and efficacy of reduced dosage ketoprofen with or without tramadol for long-term treatment of osteoarthritis in dogs: a randomized clinical trial

Beatriz P Monteiro et al. BMC Vet Res. .

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of reduced-dosage ketoprofen with or without tramadol in dogs. Five healthy dogs receiving standard-dosage ketoprofen (2 mg/kg SC, then 1 mg/kg PO daily) comprised Group A. Twenty dogs with osteoarthritis were randomized to receive reduced-dosage ketoprofen (0.5 mg/kg SC once; 0.25 mg/kg PO daily) alone (Group B) or in combination with tramadol (5 mg/kg/day PO) (Group C). Treatments were administered for 28 days. Platelet aggregation time (PAT), gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) were performed up to 60 days after treatment initiation. Pain was scored using a validated clinical metrology instrument up to D120. Data were analyzed with general linear mixed model for repeated measures (α = 0.05).

Results: PAT was not different between groups but was increased with time for all groups. GI lesion scores were higher in Group A than Groups B and C (day 28; P = 0.005) and were increased with time for Group A (P = 0.005). GFR was lower in Group A than Groups B and C (day 28; P < 0.01) and were decreased with time for group A (P < 0.001). Standard-dosage ketoprofen administration resulted in clinically relevant adverse effects. Pain score decreased in both treated groups (B and C) from D0 to D28. Need of rescue analgesia from D29 to D120 was higher in Group B than in Group C (P = 0.039).

Conclusions: The long-term safety profile of reduced-dosage ketoprofen is similar whether the drug is administered alone or in combination with tramadol to dogs with osteoarthritis. Analgesic efficacy of the combination looks attractive.

Keywords: Adverse-effects; Chronic pain; Dog; Efficacy; Ketoprofen; Non-conventional analgesic; Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug; Safety; Tramadol.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that this study was sponsored in part by Merial Animal Health Inc., Lyon, France. The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Platelet aggregation time (in seconds) of healthy dogs (group A) and those with osteoarthritis (groups B and C). Evaluations were performed at baseline (D0) and after 7, 28 and 60 days of treatment over 28 days with standard dosage ketoprofen (Group A, n = 5), or reduced dosage ketoprofen alone (Group B, n = 10) or with tramadol (Group C, n = 10). Data are presented as mean. Error bars represent standard deviation. *Indicates significant within-time difference when compared with baseline (day 0) and day 60
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Gastrointestinal endoscopic score of healthy dogs (group A) and those with osteoarthritis (groups B and C). Evaluations were performed at baseline (D0) and after 7 and 28 days of treatment with standard dosage ketoprofen (Group A, n = 5), or reduced dosage ketoprofen alone (Group B, n = 10) or with tramadol (Group C, n = 10). Data are presented as mean. Error bars represent standard deviation. *Indicates significant within-time difference when compared with baseline (day 0). Different letters indicate statistically significant differences between groups
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Glomerular filtration rate (mL/min/m2) of healthy dogs (group A) and those with osteoarthritis (groups B and C). Evaluations were performed at baseline (D0) and after 7 and 28 days of treatment with standard dosage ketoprofen (Group A, n = 5), or reduced dosage ketoprofen alone (Group B, n = 10) or with tramadol (Group C, n = 10). Data are presented as mean. Error bars represent standard deviation. *Indicates significant within-time difference when compared with baseline (day 0). Different letters indicate statistically significant differences between groups
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