Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamic effects of meloxicam in piglets subjected to a kaolin inflammation model

• Published in: Journal of veterinary pharmacology and therapeutics Vol. 34; no. 4; pp. 367 - 375
• Main Authors: FOSSE, T. K., SPADAVECCHIA, C., HORSBERG, T. E., HAGA, H. A., RANHEIM, B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.08.2011
• Subjects: Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal - blood; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal - pharmacokinetics; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal - therapeutic use; Body Temperature; Chromatography, Liquid - veterinary; Drug Administration Schedule - veterinary; Female; Fever - chemically induced; Fever - drug therapy; Fever - veterinary; Inflammation - chemically induced; Inflammation - drug therapy; Inflammation - veterinary; Injections, Intramuscular - veterinary; Kaolin; Male; Pain Measurement - veterinary; Swine - metabolism; Swine Diseases - chemically induced; Swine Diseases - drug therapy; Tandem Mass Spectrometry - veterinary; Thiazines - blood; Thiazines - pharmacokinetics; Thiazines - therapeutic use; Thiazoles - blood; Thiazoles - pharmacokinetics; Thiazoles - therapeutic use
• ISSN: 0140-7783; 1365-2885
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2885.2010.01237.x

Fosse, T. K., Spadavecchia, C., Horsberg, T. E., Haga, H. A., Ranheim, B. Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamic effects of meloxicam in piglets subjected to a kaolin inflammation model. J. vet. Pharmacol. Therap.34, 367–375. The pharmacokinetics and the analgesic, anti‐inflammatory and antipyretic effects of meloxicam were investigated in a placebo controlled study in 2‐week‐old piglets. Inflammation was induced by a subcutaneous injection of kaolin in the left metacarpus, and 16 h later, meloxicam (0.6 mg/kg) or saline was administered intramuscularly. The absorption half‐life was relatively short (0.19 h) and the elimination half‐life was 2.6 h. Mechanical nociceptive threshold testing was used to evaluate the analgesic effect, but no significant effect of the meloxicam treatment was found. The skin temperature of the inflamed area increased after the kaolin injection, but no significant decrease in temperature was found after administration of meloxicam. Only limited pyresis was observed after the kaolin injection, and no significant antipyretic effect of meloxicam was found. The results indicated that this dose of meloxicam had very limited anti‐inflammatory and analgesic effects in piglets.