Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Safety and effectiveness of leflunomide for immune diseases in dogs
By Sato, M et al.Ā·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicineĀ·2017Ā·Department of Clinical Sciences, United StatesĀ·View original on PubMed ā
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research ā every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work ā
Original publication title: A Retrospective Study on the Safety and Efficacy of Leflunomide in Dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 92 dogs with immune-mediated diseases were treated with a medication called leflunomide to see how well it worked and if it caused any side effects. About 70% of the dogs showed a positive response to the treatment, meaning their symptoms improved. Some dogs did experience mild side effects like diarrhea, lethargy, and increased liver enzymes, but these were relatively rare. The study suggests that starting with a lower dose of leflunomide (2 mg/kg/day) may be more effective and safer than the higher doses previously recommended.
People also search for: dog immune disease treatment Ā· leflunomide side effects in dogs Ā· dog lethargy after medication
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Little clinical information is available concerning the use of leflunomide in dogs with immune-mediated diseases. OBJECTIVES: To report the safety and efficacy of leflunomide for the treatment of naturally occurring immune-mediated diseases in dogs. ANIMALS: Ninety-two dogs treated with leflunomide for management of suspected immune-mediated diseases. METHODS: Retrospective medical record review from Jan 1995 to Dec 2014. Data that were extracted from the medical records included signalment, body weight, underlying indication for leflunomide, dosage of leflunomide, treatment duration, concurrent medications, treatment response, and adverse events. RESULTS: Adverse events that could be related to leflunomide administration included diarrhea (3 of 92, 3.3%), lethargy (2 of 92, 2.2%), unexplained hemorrhage (3 of 92, 3.3%), thrombocytopenia (2 of 31, 6.5%), and increased liver enzyme activities (1 of 16, 6.3%). Significant dose differences between dogs with adverse events (n = 11; median, 2.9 mg/kg/d; range, 1.8-3.6 mg/kg/d) and dogs without adverse events (n = 81; median, 1.6 mg/kg/d; range, 0.8-4.3 mg/kg/d) were found (P < 0.001). Treatment response could be evaluated in 17 dogs. Of these 17 dogs, 12 dogs (70.5%) had an apparent positive response to the use of leflunomide. There was no significant difference (P = 0.22) in dosages between dogs that responded to leflunomide (n = 12; median, 1.9 mg/kg/d; range, 1.0-3.5 mg/kg/d) and those that did not respond (n = 5; median, 1.7 mg/kg/d; range, 1.0-2.0 mg/kg/d). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Results suggest that the starting dosage of leflunomide should be 2 mg/kg/d rather than the currently suggested dosage of 3-4 mg/kg/d.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases āOriginal publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28833582/