Efficacy of etodolac for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the hip joints in dogs

Abstract

Objective To assess the efficacy of etodolac in improving hind limb function in dogs with osteoarthritis of the hip joint. Design Prospective study. Animals 100 client-owned dogs with clinical signs of osteoarthritis of the hip joint. Procedure Baseline ground reaction forces and subjective assessment scores were collected twice at a 7- to 10-day interval. After meeting entrance criteria, dogs were randomly assigned to the following 3 treatment groups: control group (0 mg of etodolac), low-dosage group (135 mg of etodolac), or high-dosage group (450 mg of etodolac). Dogs were treated once daily for 8 days, and gait analysis was repeated on day 8. Results On day 8 of treatment, vertical impulse and vertical peak force values for low- and high-dosage groups were significantly greater than baseline values within each group. On day 8, vertical impulse values from the high-dosage group were significantly greater than values from the low-dosage group. Vertical peak forces for the low- and high-dosage groups were significantly greater at 8 days than that of the control group. Analysis of the effect of evaluation center (site) on treatment outcome did not reveal a significant effect. Clinical Implications Etodolac administration for 8 days improved ground reaction forces in dogs with osteoarthritis of the hip joint. Improvement in force transmission was dosage dependent for the primary outcome measurement (vertical impulse). Results of the study indicate that etodolac is well tolerated by dogs, with minimal adverse effects during an 8-day treatment period. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 1999;214:206–210)