Analgesic effect of meloxicam in canine acute dermatitis--a pilot study.

Author(s): Viking Hoglund O, Frendin J

Affiliation(s): Arninge Djurklinik, Taby, Sweden. oddviking@aol.com

Publication date & source: 2002, Acta Vet Scand., 43(4):247-52.

Publication type: Clinical Trial; Randomized Controlled Trial

A double-blind trial was performed on 12 client-owned dogs suffering from acute and painful dermatitis. Clinically these cases represented pyotraumatic dermatitis and pyotraumatic folliculitis. Six dogs were injected with meloxicam and 6 were given placebo. Signs of pain were recorded on a visual analogue scale before administering the drug. This was repeated over the following 2-3 days. All dogs were treated with cephalexin orally. Six dogs given meloxicam and cephalexin showed an average decrease of pain on day 2 of 28.3%, whereas the 6 dogs given placebo and cephalexin showed an average decrease of pain on day 2 of 8.3%. When compared in the Wilcoxon two-sample test, using change in percent and absolute change, the 2 groups yielded p = 0.026 and p = 0.064 respectively. These findings indicate that meloxicam has an analgesic effect on acute dermatitis in dogs.