Abstract
A terbinafine impregnated subcutaneous implant was evaluated to determine if drug was released into isotonic saline over the course of 6 months at two different temperatures, 37°C and 4°C. These temperatures were chosen to simulate the nonhibernating (37°C) and hibernating body (4°C) temperatures of little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus). Insectivorous bats of North America, including little brown bats, have been devastated by white nose syndrome, a fungal infection caused by Geomyces destructans. No treatments exist for bats infected with G. destructans. Implants were placed into isotonic saline; samples were collected once per week and analyzed with HPLC to determine terbinafine concentrations. The mean amount of terbinafine released weekly across the 28 weeks was approximately 1.7 μg at 4°C and 4.3 μg at 37°C. Although significant differences in the amount released did occur at some time points, these differences were not consistently greater or less at either of the temperatures. This study showed that terbinafine was released from an impregnated implant over the course of 6 months at concentrations ranging from 0.02 to 0.06 μg/mL depending on temperature, which may be appropriate for little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) infected with Geomyces destructans, the etiologic agent of white nose syndrome.
Highlights
Treatment of systemic fungal infections often requires from weeks to months of drug therapy
Nondomesticated animals are susceptible to stress from repeated handling and restraint, and stress can lead to the death of hospitalized wildlife or exotic pets [1]
The goal of this study was to investigate a terbinafine impregnated implant designed for subcutaneous placement over the dorsum of bats infected with G. destructans; the in vitro release of terbinafine from the implant was evaluated at two different temperatures, 4◦C and 37◦C, over the course of approximately 6 months
Summary
Treatment of systemic fungal infections often requires from weeks to months of drug therapy. Medicating companion animals for this length of time can be difficult and even more so with animals that become stressed with handling, such as wildlife or exotic pets. Nondomesticated animals are susceptible to stress from repeated handling and restraint, and stress can lead to the death of hospitalized wildlife or exotic pets [1]. Stress, including that associated with handling in animals, has been shown to lead to immunosuppression and increased susceptibility to disease. Stress associated with repeated handling for treatment of an infection could inhibit an animal’s ability to mount an appropriate immune response [2,3,4]. Animals may be infected with G. destructans when captured and need antifungal treatment that is long acting and which would require limited handling of the animal
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