Cefovecin pharmacokinetics after single‐dose intramuscular administration in cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus)

Abstract

Cefovecin is a third‐generation cephalosporin with potential value for use in exotic felids due to its long duration of action. A sparse sampling protocol was implemented with 18 zoo‐housed cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of cefovecin (Convenia®) after a single 8 mg/kg intramuscular injection. Blood was collected serially for 15 days following administration, and plasma cefovecin concentrations were determined using high‐pressure liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection. Pharmacokinetic parameters were estimated using population pharmacokinetic methods and non‐linear mixed effects modeling (NLME). Cefovecin was well tolerated by all cats, with no adverse effects observed. Peak plasma cefovecin concentration was 84.75 µg/ml, with a mean residence time of 207.9 h and an elimination half‐life of 144.1 h (6.00 days). Plasma concentrations of cefovecin were maintained >7 µg/ml in all individuals for the entire study duration (15 days). These concentrations are lower, and the half‐life slightly shorter, than the values reported for domestic cats. Cefovecin was highly protein‐bound (approximately 99.9%) in cheetah plasma, which is nearly identical to domestic cats. These results indicate that cefovecin is potentially useful as a long‐acting antibiotic in cheetahs.

Pharmacokinetics of pimobendan after oral administration to dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease

“…This study examined pimobendan pharmacokinetic values after oral administration to dogs with naturally occurring MMVD using sparse sampling protocol. Previous population pharmacokinetic studies have been helpful to investigate drug pharmacokinetics in clinically affected animals and exotic species 15‐19 as these study animals cannot be sampled as often as a research colony of dogs. In our study, each dog had blood samples collected at three of the 10 time points.…”

“…To minimize the frequency of blood sampling in the dogs with heart disease, a sparse-sampling strategy was used as in other studies performing pharmacokinetic analysis using population modeling. [13][14][15][16][17][18] There were 10 designated sample points after administration of the pimobendan (zero minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes, 2 hours, 4 hours, 6 hours, 8 hours, and 12 hours). "Time zero" was considered any time between the dog arriving to the hospital and before the pimobendan was given.…”