Correlation of injection site damage and serum creatine kinase activity in turkeys following intramuscular and subcutaneous administration of norfloxacin nicotinate

Abstract

Turkeys were given an intramuscular (IM) or subcutaneous (SC) injection of an aqueous solution of norfloxacin nicotinate (NFN) and some were also given an IM injection of saline. Serum creatine kinase (CK) activity was measured immediately before and at intervals after treatment, and turkeys were also killed at intervals to assess the extent and duration of local tissue damage at the injection site. IM injection of saline and SC injection of NFN resulted in minimal damage. At 8 h post-treatment serum CK activity was two to three times greater than the pretreatment value, but was back to the pretreatment level by 72 h. IM injection of NFN resulted in a level of CK activity that was 9.83 +/- 5.16 (mean +/- standard deviation) times greater than pretreatment value, and also swelling and haemorrhage at the injection site and microscopic changes characteristic of severe irritation. Histological evidence of muscle repair was delayed for 5 days after IM NFN administration although serum CK activity has returned to pretreatment levels by this time. These results suggest that the rise in serum CK activity in the turkeys correlated well with the extent of muscle tissue damage, but poorly with its duration.