Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Feline interferon-omega did not improve survival or quality of life
By Ritz, Susanne et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2007·Clinic of Small Animal Internal Medicine, Germany·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Effect of feline interferon-omega on the survival time and quality of life of cats with feline infectious peritonitis.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 37 cats diagnosed with feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) were treated with either a medication called feline interferon-omega or a placebo to see if it would help them live longer or improve their quality of life. Unfortunately, the results showed no significant difference in survival time between the two groups, with most cats living only a few days to a few months. Only one cat treated with the interferon lived longer than three months. Overall, this study suggests that feline interferon-omega may not be effective for treating FIP.
People also search for: cat FIP treatment options · feline infectious peritonitis prognosis · feline interferon-omega effectiveness
Abstract
BACKGROUND: There is no therapy with proven efficacy to treat cats with feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). HYPOTHESIS: Feline interferon-omega (FeIFN-omega) prolongs survival time and increases quality of life in cats with FIP. ANIMALS: Thirty-seven privately owned cats were subjects of this study. METHODS: The study was performed as a placebo-controlled double-blind trial. Feline infectious peritonitis was confirmed by histology or immunostaining of feline coronavirus (FCoV) antigen in effusion or tissue macrophages or both. The cats were randomly selected for treatment with either FeIFN-omega or a placebo. All cats received adjunctive treatment with glucocorticoids and antibiotics and passive immunization with Feliserin. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference in the survival time of cats treated with FeIFN-omega versus placebo or in any other variable evaluated (with the exception of the lymphocyte count). The cats survived between 3 and 200 days (median, 9 days). There was only 1 long-term survivor (> 3 months), and the cat was in the FeIFN-omega group. CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: No effect of FeIFN-omega on survival time or quality of life could be demonstrated in this study.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18196725/