Description of Plasma Penicillin G Concentrations after Intramuscular Injection in Double-Muscled Cows to Optimize the Timing of Antibiotherapy for Caesarean Section.

Arnaud Sartelet,Philippe Bossaert,Siska Croubels,Damien Thiry,Nassim Moula,Marc Cherlet,Ludovic Martinelle,Salem Djebala

doi:10.3390/vetsci8050067

Arnaud Sartelet, Philippe Bossaert + Show 6 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci8050067

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Journal: Veterinary sciences	Publication Date: Apr 21, 2021
Citations: 2	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Liège, Ghent University

Abstract

In order to improve the efficacy of penicillin injection during caesarean section, we aimed to identify the optimal timing of its preoperative administration. A study was conducted in 12 adult, non-pregnant Belgian Blue cows. To evaluate the plasma penicillin concentrations, blood samples were taken from the jugular vein at −5, 15, 30, 45, 60, 120, 240, 480 min relative to the intramuscular (IM) injection of 21,000 IU/kg of body weight of penicillin G. Results showed that plasma concentrations at 15 min after IM injection (668.3 ± 73.7 ng/mL) largely exceeded the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of penicillin-sensitive bacteria (MIC < 125 ng/mL). With increasing time, plasma concentrations continued to rise, attaining an increasing proportion of moderately sensitive bacteria (250 ng/mL > MIC < 2000 ng/mL). The maximal concentration was reached between 1 and 4 h (average: 1.495.1 ± 181.7 ng/mL) after IM injection in the majority of cows, and decreased non-significantly to 1002.1 ± 93.2 ng/mL at 8 h. In conclusion, plasma penicillin concentrations at 15 min after an IM injection inhibit penicillin-sensitive bacteria. However, in order to obtain the maximal protective effect of the antibiotherapy, surgery should be started at 1 to 2 h after IM penicillin injection.

Highlights

Laparotomy is a common surgical procedure in bovine veterinary medicine that is performed for digestive [1,2] and reproductive indications [3,4,5]
Detailed results for the penicillin G plasma concentrations are displayed in Figure and Table 1
Since all use of antibiotics stimulates the development of bacterial resistance, veterinarians are encouraged to avoid the use of antibiotics whenever possible and to optimize their efficacy when necessary [31,32]

Summary

Introduction

Laparotomy is a common surgical procedure in bovine veterinary medicine that is performed for digestive [1,2] and reproductive indications [3,4,5]. Since bacterial infection may lead to severe postoperative complications [12,13,14,15], veterinarians systematically administer antibiotics when performing a CS [6]. The goal of prophylactic antibiotic treatment is to reach concentrations that sufficiently reduce bacterial proliferation at the surgical site for the entire duration of the procedure [16,17,18,19]. In CS in women, a prophylactic antibiotic injection before the onset of surgery has been shown to effectively lower the risk of infectious complications, and has been accepted as a standard protocol [17,18,19]

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