Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2014 Nov 4:5:159-168.
doi: 10.2147/VMRR.S70207. eCollection 2014.

Use of firocoxib for the treatment of equine osteoarthritis

Josh R Donnell  1 , David D Frisbie  1
Affiliations
Review

Use of firocoxib for the treatment of equine osteoarthritis

Josh R Donnell et al. Vet Med (Auckl). .

Abstract

This review presents the pathogenesis and medical treatment of equine osteoarthritis (OA), focusing on firocoxib. Inhibition of prostaglandin E2 remains a fundamental treatment for decreasing clinical symptoms (ie, pain and lameness) associated with OA in horses. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which inhibit the production of prostaglandin E2 from the arachidonic acid pathway, continue to be a mainstay for the clinical treatment of OA. Firocoxib is a cyclooxygenase (COX)-2-preferential NSAID that has been shown to be safe and to have a 70% oral bioavailability in the horse. Three clinical reports identified symptom-modifying effects (reduction in pain and/or lameness) in horses with OA administered the once-daily recommended dose (0.1 mg/kg) of oral firocoxib following 7 days of administration. Other reports have suggested that a one-time loading dose (0.3 mg/kg) of firocoxib provides an earlier (1-3 days) onset of action compared to the recommended dose. It is noteworthy that OA disease-modifying effects have been reported in horses for other COX-2-preferential NSAIDs (meloxicam and carprofen), but have not been attributed to firocoxib due to a lack of investigation to date.

Keywords: COX-2 inhibitor; NSAID; firocoxib; horse; osteoarthritis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None of the authors has a financial interest or a personal relationship with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias the content of this review article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of inhibition of the inflammatory cascade by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and corticosteroid. Abbreviations: COX, cyclooxygenase; PG, prostaglandin; TXA, Thromboxane A2.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Ross MW, Dyson SJ. Diagnosis and Management of Lameness in the Horse. Philadelphia, PA, WB Saunders, 2003, 1140p.
    1. United States Department of Agriculture. National Economic Cost of Equine Lameness, Colic and Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis in the United States. Washington: USDA; 2001. Available from: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahms/equine/downloads/equine98/.... Accessed September 3, 2014.
    1. McIlwraith CW, Vachon A. Review of pathogenesis and treatment of degenerative joint disease. Equine Vet J. 2010;20:3–11. - PubMed
    1. [No authors listed] Recommendations for the registration of drugs used in the treatment of osteoarthritis. Group for the respect of ethics and excellence in science (GREES): osteoarthritis section. Ann Rheum Dis. 1996;55:552–557. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lynch TM, Caron JP, Arnoczky SP, Lloyd JW, Stick JA, Render JA. Influence of exogenous hyaluronan on synthesis of hyaluronan and collagenase by equine synoviocytes. Am J Vet Res. 1998;59:888–892. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources