Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Itraconazole blood levels in cats treated for sporotrichosis
By Pereira-Oliveira, Gabriela Reis et al.·Published in Medical mycology·2024·Laboratory of Clinical Research on Dermatozoonoses in Domestic Animals, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Plasma itraconazole concentrations during treatment of feline sporotrichosis.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
Sixteen cats diagnosed with sporotrichosis (a fungal infection) were treated with itraconazole, either alone or combined with potassium iodide, to see how well the medications worked. After eight weeks, about 56% of the cats showed improvement, with the combination therapy resulting in higher medication levels in the blood. However, some cats experienced side effects, with decreased appetite being the most common issue. Overall, the study found that the treatment was effective, especially when both medications were used together, and the right blood levels were reached after four weeks.
People also search for: cat sporotrichosis treatment · itraconazole for cats · potassium iodide side effects in cats
Abstract
Itraconazole (ITZ) is the most used drug to treat feline sporotrichosis; however, little is known about its pharmacokinetics in cats with this mycosis. The aim of this study was to determine plasma ITZ concentrations in cats with sporotrichosis treated with ITZ as monotherapy or in combination with potassium iodide (KI). Cats diagnosed with sporotrichosis received orally ITZ (100 mg/cat/day) or combination therapy with ITZ (100 mg/cat/day) and KI (2.5-5 mg/kg/day) in the case of worsening or stagnation of the clinical condition. At each monthly visit, blood samples were collected at an interval of 4 h for analysis of trough and peak plasma ITZ concentrations by HPLC. Clinical features and laboratory parameters were evaluated during follow-up. Sixteen cats were included in the study. The median plasma ITZ concentration of all cats was 0.75 µg/mL. The median plasma ITZ concentration was 0.5 µg/mL in cats that received ITZ monotherapy (n = 12) and 1.0 µg/mL in those treated with ITZ + KI (n = 4). The clinical cure rate was 56.3% (n = 9) and the median treatment duration was 8 weeks. Nine cats (56.3%) developed adverse clinical reactions, and hyporexia was the most frequent (n = 8; 88.9%). Serum alanine aminotransferase was elevated in four cats (25%). The median plasma ITZ concentration detected in cats was considered to be therapeutic (>0.5 µg/mL) and was reached after 4 weeks of treatment. Plasma ITZ concentrations were higher in cats that received ITZ + KI compared to those treated only with ITZ, suggesting pharmacokinetic synergism between these drugs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39049454/