Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Preventing clindamycin stomach upset in healthy cats with synbiotics
By Stokes, J E et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2017·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Randomized, Controlled, Crossover trial of Prevention of Clindamycin-Induced Gastrointestinal Signs Using a Synbiotic in Healthy Research Cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 16 healthy cats was given clindamycin, an antibiotic, to see if a synbiotic (a mix of probiotics and prebiotics) could help prevent gastrointestinal issues like vomiting and reduced appetite. The cats that received the synbiotic were more likely to finish their treatment and showed less vomiting, although the results weren't statistically significant. They also ate more food while on the synbiotic. However, the synbiotic did not reduce diarrhea, which is a common issue with antibiotics in humans. Overall, the synbiotic seemed to help with appetite and vomiting in these cats.
People also search for: cat vomiting after antibiotics · clindamycin side effects in cats · synbiotics for cats with diarrhea
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Synbiotics often are prescribed to limit antibiotic-associated gastrointestinal signs (AAGS) in cats, but data to support this recommendation are lacking. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether synbiotic co-administration mitigates AAGS in healthy research cats treated with clindamycin. ANIMALS: 16 healthy research cats. METHODS: A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, 2-way, 2-period, crossover study with a 6-week washout was performed. Each study period consisted of a 1-week baseline and a 3-week treatment period. Cats received 75 mg clindamycin with food once daily for 3 weeks, followed 1 hour later by either 2 capsules of a synbiotic or placebo. Food consumption, vomiting, fecal score, and completion of treatment were compared using repeated measures split plot or crossover designs with covariates, with P < 0.05 considered significant. RESULTS: Cats that received the synbiotic were more likely to complete treatment in period 1 (100% vs. 50%, P = 0.04). Cats vomited less when receiving the synbiotic but this was not significant, but there were significant period effects (F-value = 11.4, P < 0.01). Cats had higher food intake while receiving the synbiotic (F-value = 31.1, P < 0.01) despite period effects (F-value = 8.6, P < 0.01). There was no significant effect of treatment on fecal scores, which significantly increased over time (F-value = 17.9, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Administration of a synbiotic 1 hour after clindamycin administration decreased hyporexia and vomiting in healthy cats. Additionally, significant period effects suggest that clinical benefits of synbiotic administration persist for at least 6 weeks after discontinuation, decreasing the severity of AAGS in cats that subsequently received clindamycin with placebo. Unlike in people, synbiotic administration did not decrease antibiotic-associated diarrhea.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28755457/