Aside from the ten learning points I addressed in the previous post, you should all know about some new products on the horizon for your pets. Conferences like this one are where the big companies roll out their new stuff. That’s big news for vets…and for you, too. At some point down the road you’ll be hearing about some of these so get ready.
Drum roll, please:
1-Vetmedin: The new “miracle drug” for congestive heart failure in dogs. OK, so that’s a boring one to start off with but I’m excited about it, nonetheless. Does that make me a vet geek?
2-Dexdomitor: We need more anesthetic drugs for cats. This one promises some pain control along with its relaxing effects and potential reversibility (though its reversibility through the drug Antisedan is not approved for cats). For dogs, it’s an improvement over the reversible Domitor.
3-There’s a new once a month flea killer for dogs: Comfortis by Eli Lilly. It’s a pill, like Capstar, only it lasts about a month. Problem is it’s available by prescription only. That’s because 12% of dogs threw up after receiving it with an additional 10% showing some additional GI signs like reduced appetite or diarrhea. Supposedly, the symptoms decrease with every month of administration but it’s still a big issue. Nonetheless, I’ll be happily trying it out on my truly frustrating flea allergy/infestation cases.
4-Fort Dodge has a new topical flea and tick killer approved for dogs and cats. Promeris is a new compound called Metaflumizone so we’ll have to see how safe and effective it truly is—especially against the ticks our Frontline and Advantix are hard pressed to control.
5-Omigod pet insurance is exploding as a category (That's why I'll have a post devoted to this topic later this week.) A variety of upstart organizations are now vying for a role in this market. While VPI (Veterinary Pet Insurance) reportedly owns over 80% of the pet insurance market, under 5% of the US pet owning public uses it. That’s a paltry figure for a country that otherwise seems to love insurance. Perhaps that’s because the plans haven’t exactly been up to speed with what pet owners really need. Here’s to hoping the new entries will make a real difference to those of you living in fear of a cruciate tear, bloat or diabetes.
6-Universal readers: They’re responding. I’d like to think that some of us have made a difference to how the microchip companies are playing their hand. Microchip readers that can spot the ISO and US standard chips are now being carried more widely by companies like HomeAgain and AVID. AVID still seems reluctant, though, while HomeAgain now doesn’t even distribute the outdated, non-universal scanners.
Those are the biggies. Does that buy me any CE credit? Hmmmm.....
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How is dexmedetomidine hydrochloride different from plain detomidine hydrochloride (domo/dormosedan - same job in horses)? Sorry, this pharmacology stuff is interesting ;)
JC January 22nd, 2008 10:33:00 AM
speaking of which: I was yesterday at the vet's for a UTI in my CRF kitty. When he gave my her antibiotics pills (Synulox), he mentioned that in the US there is now a new sub-q injection of antibiotics which is good for 14 days.
I didn't have a chance to ask him for more details (and anyway, it isn't yet available here in Israel)- does it ring a bell with you? Do you know which product he was talking about?
Xslf January 22nd, 2008 11:58:00 AM
JC: They're all alpha 2 adrenergic agonists reversible by atipamezole. The left handed molecule of Dexmedetomidine is apparently safer in cats--which is the biggest difference from my read of the material. Kitty lableing is a huge issue for us. It's also way more expensive, though. I suspect most of us will still be using microdoses of Domitor in dogs and the Dex version only in cats for that reason.
Dr. Patty Khuly January 22nd, 2008 12:17:00 PM
Xslf: I had not heard of such a miracle. Please keep me posted.
Dr. Patty Khuly January 22nd, 2008 12:18:00 PM
The latest AVMA Pet Ownership and Demographics Sourcebook (http://www.avma.org/products/resource/demographic....) pegs the US cat & dog population at 153.7 million in 2006. There are roughly 600,000 insured pets in the US (numbers we arrive at from collecting insurance filings and other public data) so the true penetration of pet insurance is very, very low at around 0.4% to 0.5%, an order of magnitude lower than the figures typically quoted.
But VPI's market share is currently around 75 - 80%.
Alex Krooglik January 22nd, 2008 12:20:00 PM
Just wondering...even though pilling and giving liquids to cats can be very trying, with the rise in vaccine induced sarcomas, do we really want to have another reason to stick needles in our feline friends, or is it definitive that the adjuvant in vaccines are the culprit when we talk about cancerous reactions to injections in cats?
Sadly, the jack. err. donkey of a vet that gave my sisters cat her last rabies vaccination gave it between the shoulders instead of the right rear and now she has a very aggressive tumour there, ruling out the option of removing the affected appendage if the growth gets out of control.
Brian Hewitt January 22nd, 2008 03:09:00 PM
Just to clarify, I was commenting on the injectable antibiotics, wondering how an injection to administer them would be different from injecting a vaccine.
Brian Hewitt January 22nd, 2008 03:34:00 PM
Xslf: This wonderdrug is called Convenia (because it IS convenient :D )- its registered by Pzifer Animal Health, and was released in Europe last fall (if I recall correctly) - it works wonders on abscesses and skininfections, and secures owner compliance, since the entire treatment is given at the Vet (one injection lasts appr. 14 days).
The active drug is cefovecin, an antibiotic in the cephalosporin group (3rd generation)
Since its release it has been my #1 choice for bitewounds in cats, and owner satisfaction has been very high, despite the higher pricetag (a bottle with 10 ml, enough for 100 kg of animal costs appr. $225, the average dose for a cat is 0,5 ml).
/Mette
Mette January 22nd, 2008 03:43:00 PM
I think VPI is about as unscrupulous as they come. They are a horrible company, and I'm sure their 80% market share is only directly related to their mass-marketing and brochures everywhere you look. I had a terrible, terrible experience with them which quickly prompted me to sign up with PetCare. Had I been more thorough with my Pet Insurance research, rather than just signing up with the first company I found, I never would've gone with VPI. I have been thrilled with the service and quality at PetCare! When I was switching companies, I was very emotional (Lottie had just finished a second round of surgery while I was in receipt of the first (of two) denied claims) and the PetCare woman sat patiently on the phone with me answering my many questions.
I think the key for people to understand, and this is just my 2 cents, is you do not want to bother with insurance that covers "routine care". Because those companies will not cover you when you need it- they've written their policies with a massive amount of loopholes that allow them to deny emergency and illness claims 'willy nilly' (read: fine print). You want to look for FULL illness and emergency coverage, regardless of breed or hereditary conditions, and keep the routine care out-of-pocket.
Hope that helps anyone considering insurance. Unless you are a diligent rainy-day saver, I recommend it!
Amy in Somerville January 22nd, 2008 05:22:00 PM
Mette- thanks for the info!
In my case, my CRF kitty gets medication bid anyway, so it isn't a huge deal adding antibiotics. But I'm sure for many cat owners this injection would really be helpful.
Xslf January 22nd, 2008 05:40:00 PM
I'll word it another way :)
Have there been any instances of injection site related sarcomas with this method of administering the antibiotics, or hasn't Convenia been around long enough for studies to be done?
Brian Hewitt January 22nd, 2008 05:49:00 PM
Brian: We still don't completely understand the genesis of injection site sarcomas. Foreign bodies, like microchips and grass awns have reportedly spawned sarcomas after the animal's body responded to the inflammation in an aberrant way. Antibiotic injections, however, have not as yet been reported to give rise to these tumors, though perhaps any injection theoretically could. As with everything else in medicine, we have to look to the risk/reward aspect of giving any injection.
Dr. Patty Khuly January 23rd, 2008 08:46:00 AM
Xslf & Mette: Wow! My boyfriend and I had a great time at dinner last night mulling this one over. I'm sure I could use this drug starting today and have half my cat clients kissing my feet in no time. Can't get it in the US, though, right? I'll call my Pfizer rep today, anyway. Thanks!
Dr. Patty Khuly January 23rd, 2008 08:50:00 AM
thanks Dr. Khuly. To me, the risk outweighs the "inconvenience" of administering oral meds to my cats.
I'm sure that clients would love it because they don't have to actually "do" anything, but then again, that's the way our society is headed, people wanting things without having to put any time or effort into it. I can understand comepletly psycho cats getting this injection because they make it virtually impossible to give them any meds, but that is not the majority of cats, judging by all I've owned or the cats that come into the clinic. Heaven forbid somebody has to take a couple miunutes out of their day to administer meds ;)
I'd ask why some of them have pets at all, but that's just human nature, I guess...wanting something for nothing.
Brian Hewitt January 23rd, 2008 03:35:00 PM
For meds via injection, sometimes they are the only thing that works. My IBD cat had two serious bouts of illness in 2007. When he was extremely sick last summer, we were beside ourselves and so frustrated because he just couldn't tolerate oral meds. This isn't just a case of a cat being difficult to pill - our other IBD cat has been receiving oral meds since 2004. Yes, he is difficult, but he also vomited and frothed at the mouth with almost anything given orally. Part of the problem is he darts his tongue all over making it difficult to drop the pill where it should go. And we were supposed to give him three pills, two times per day. We had a late night conversation with our vet as we were really worried about hepatitis as Bo could not keep any food down.....We finally came up with the plan to use injections for treatment. That was a godsend and saved his life. During his summer bout, we still gave him an appetite stimulant for a few days via pill, but there was no way we could do all of them. He was also very stressed from pilling and that didnt' help his situation any.
When he was sick again in December, and got worse a couple of weeks after exploratory surgery, we again were very thankful for the injections. Bo received injections of dolasetron - for him a wonder anti-vomiting drug as metoclopramide gave him cramps. He is currently still receiving the pepcid injections...but I am guessing we will wean him off of them. He started to take prednisolone earlier this month...and tuna chews seem to be the thing that works for him. We tried chews on the pepcid in a different flavor but he stopped eating them. If that goes long term, we may look at a different flavor or transdermal as I don't like the idea of injections for long term treatment.
Bo also was diagnosed with moderate helicobacter....We opted not to treat him for it at this time, although we would have liked to as vomiting was his main symptom. However, again, the meds are oral....and he was extremely sick when we started the pred up. It would have been wonderful to have injections as an option. We may revisit this one later - don't know for sure if the vet will want to or not. We did try some pediatric amoxicillin liquid shortly after his surgery and we couldn't get the whole dose in - yuck sweet cherry liquid for a cat !
Jenny January 26th, 2008 11:56:00 AM
I went to a Pzifer rep's talk last year (in the UK) about Convenia, then asked our clinic rep about it while working in the states over the summer. She hadn't heard anything about it so I'm thinking it will be a while before its released in the states. Too bad, definitly a lot of cats it would be useful in. I vaguely recall that one of the main targets for the drug are UTIs.
Alli January 27th, 2008 03:51:00 PM
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