Abstract
BackgroundMetronidazole is commonly administered to dogs with acute diarrhea, but there is limited evidence to support this practice.ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of metronidazole administration on dogs with acute nonspecific diarrhea.AnimalsThirty‐one dogs, including 14 test population dogs and 17 controls.MethodsRandomized controlled clinical trial. Dogs with acute diarrhea in which causation was not determined by routine fecal diagnostic testing were randomly assigned to metronidazole treatment (10‐15 mg/kg PO q12h for 7 days) or placebo. Fecal cultures and characterization of Clostridium perfringens isolates also were performed. Owners maintained medication and fecal scoring logs, and fecal diagnostic tests were repeated on day 7.ResultsThe mean ± SD time to resolution of diarrhea for test population dogs (2.1 ± 1.6 days) was less than that for controls (3.6 ± 2.1 days, P = .04). Potential relationships of C. perfringens with acute diarrhea pathogenesis were not investigated, but only 3 of 13 (23.1%) test population dogs had persistent C. perfringens carriage at day 7, which was less than the 11 of 14 (78.6%) controls with persistent growth (P = .007).Conclusions and Clinical ImportanceOur results suggest that metronidazole treatment can shorten duration of diarrhea and decrease fecal culture detection of C. perfringens in some dogs with acute nonspecific diarrhea. Additional studies are needed to assess the benefits and risks of routine use of metronidazole for this purpose because most dogs achieve resolution of diarrhea within several days regardless of treatment.
Highlights
Acute diarrhea, which is defined as a short-term increase in the liquidity of feces, is a common reason for non-wellness–related veterinaryAbbreviations: MSU-VDL, Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory; MSU-VMC, Michigan State University Veterinary Medical Center.evaluations in dogs.[1-4]
Dogs evaluated at the Michigan State University Veterinary Medical Center (MSU-VMC) for acute diarrhea, with or without concurrent vomiting, were screened for participation in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded clinical trial
Our results suggest that metronidazole treatment can shorten the duration of diarrhea in some dogs with acute nonspecific diarrhea
Summary
Acute diarrhea, which is defined as a short-term increase in the liquidity of feces, is a common reason for non-wellness–related veterinary. A nitroimidazole antibiotic, for the treatment of acute diarrhea in dogs.[1,10,13]. It has a broad spectrum of activity against anaerobic bacteria including potential enteric pathogens such as Clostridium perfringens, and antiprotozoal activity is observed at higher dosages.[14-16]. Metronidazole has been associated with an increased risk of cancer and other adverse sequelae in humans.[20] Considering these concerns, it is important to establish whether or not metronidazole is of clinical benefit for the routine treatment of acute diarrhea. The primary objectives of this randomized controlled clinical trial were to evaluate the effects of metronidazole treatment on duration of diarrhea in dogs with acute nonspecific diarrhea. We further hypothesized that metronidazole treatment would decrease fecal culture detection of C. perfringens
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