Survey on the use of metadoxine in liver diseases of small animals in Colombia

Abstract

Metadoxine is a drug with a potential antioxidant and antifibrotic effect that is essentially used in human medicine in the treatment of acute or chronic alcoholic steatohepatitis. Numerous clinical trials and experimental investigations support its use; however, in veterinary medicine there are no field studies on this topic, although there exist isolated reports of its indication in secondary liver diseases in Latin American databases. The present study aimed to report on the prescription of metadoxine in canine and feline hepatopathies in routine practice in Colombia. Applying online web tools, a survey was conducted to establish some treatment guidelines for the use of metadoxine in the said field. Results showed that 55% of participating veterinarians prescribed metadoxine at least once in canines and felines. 74.6% of them reported a favorable evolution. As a joint therapy, dietary modifications, silymarin, and ursodeoxycholic acid were also prescribed in 80, 45.5, and 38.2% of the cases, respectively. A wide variation was detected regarding the dose, application route, frequency, and the duration of the therapeutic protocol. Regarding oral prescription, the dose was 17.3 ± 11.4 mg/dl every 12 hours. The results confirm the use of metadoxine as a treatment for hepatopathies in dogs and cats in Colombia. This highlights the need to carry out clinical trials that test the effect of metadoxine on the clinical and paraclinical evolution and prognosis of certain hepatopathies in dogs and cats