SUMMARY
Thirty broiler chickens of known weight and history were processed simultaneously under normal conditions in each of three poultry packing stations, visually assessed to be operating at ‘ideal’, ‘good’, and ‘poor’levels of hygiene. The eviscerated carcases were bisected, cooled to 3° in chilled air, and distributed between three treatment groups which were dipped for 30 min in chilled water containing 0, 10 and 20 p/m of chlortetracycline respectively. During storage at 3° for 3 weeks, microbiological and sensory examinations were undertaken. At all levels of hygiene, the application of the antibiotic significantly delayed the onset of spoilage; the differences between the effects of 10 and 20 p/m were small and generally insignificant. Bacterial counts of 106/cm2 of skin were obtained from the controls on the 7th day of storage whereas similar counts on the treated groups were not reached until the 14th day. ‘Off’odours developed in the control groups between the 5th and 7th days and in the treated groups between the 10th and 14th days. The nature of the spoilage flora acquired during processing appeared to be associated with the duration of storage.
Therapeutic drug monitoring is an underutilised resource in the management of canine primary epilepsy. Many of the anti-epileptic drugs, including phenobarbitone, have variable pharmacokinetic profiles in different dogs, with each individual animal showing variable rates of absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion. This results in variable serumdrug concentrations with the same oral dose. Many clinicians interpret this situation as therapeutic failure and classify these patients as refractory to treatment. By measuring blood concentrations of drugs at appropriate times, it is possible to explain the efficacy or failure of treatment, and also to prevent serum concentrations from reaching toxic levels. By analysing paired samples, key pharmacokinetic parameters may be calculated for each patient and a profile for the disposition of the drug obtained. Individual optimal drug dosage can be calculated for each patient at little cost to the pet owner
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