Discussion on Proper time of day for dex administration
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| Author |
Message |
    
sandmstables
Member
Username: Sschoen
Post Number: 9
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Monday, Jan 16, 2006 - 8:56 am: |   |
I have a horse boarded in my barn that receives dex every other day for allergies. Vet said to give it with his evening grain, but a recent article in a horse publication said it was important that it be given in the morning. Can you confirm which time of day is best? |
Robert N. Oglesby DVM
Moderator
Username: Dro
Post Number: 14522
Registered: 1-1997
| | Posted on Tuesday, Jan 17, 2006 - 8:57 am: | |
With long term administration of shorter acting steroids like prednisolone, it is best to give in the morning. The adrenals are less active during the day so the suppression during the highest blood levels of medication is minimized this way.
However with dexamethasone and its much longer action this is not as important. All things equal, morning might have some advantages so that the blood levels are low enough by the evening of the day after treatment that the dex levels might be low enough that the adrenals become active, but I have not seen any work to confirm this. Have they tried every 3 day dosage with dex or using prednisolone ADT? We have an article on general steroid use and ADT on the anti-inflammatory menu that should be reviewed as it explains these principles and more.
DrO |
sandmstables
Member
Username: Sschoen
Post Number: 10
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, Jan 19, 2006 - 12:19 pm: | |
Thanks for the information! No, they have never tried changing him to every 3 days nor have they tried prednisolone ADT. I've printed out the articles for the owner to read...again, thanks! This site is such a wealth of information! |
