|
|
Discussion on Naxel or penicillin
|
| Author |
Message |
Member:
kaye
|
Posted on Friday, Nov 27, 2009 - 11:37 pm:
I have a colt that cut his back right fetlock. We are in the midst of a snow storm, so I took him to the local vet. She cleaned his wound and it was full of dirt/manure. She could not tell if it had penetrated the joint. She has a feeling it did not. She told me that this was really out of her league. She recommend bute and 35cc of penicillin 2x a day for 5 days. I asked her about Naxcel and she wasn't sure which one would be more appropriate. (I used it before on a persistent infection per vets orders) It will be a few days before I can get him to a specialist, but I have both at home. What would you recommend as I really want to avoid any infection till he can see the equine vet.
|
Moderator:
DrO
|
Posted on Saturday, Nov 28, 2009 - 8:35 am:
Hello Kaye,
If a joint capsule has been invaded antibiotics alone do not reliably prevent infection. For more on why this is and proper treatment see Diseases of Horses » Lameness » Joint, Bone, Ligament Diseases » Joint Infection, Joint Ill, and Septic Arthritis.
As to preventing infection in the wound let me reiterate a well established wound care principle. Good primary and secondary wound care is the more important than antibiotic selection when it comes to preventing serious infection, for more on this see Diseases of Horses » Skin Diseases, Wounds, and Swellings » Wounds / Burns.
To get back to your original question, if given these two choices I believe Naxcel (ceftiofur) might be the best choice as it covers the most likely organisms, the gram positives, but also gives gram negative protection. However I think there is a third choice which is even better. Assuming a otherwise healthy horse in good hydration a combination of procaine penicillin and gentamicin would be economical and provide the widest possible spectrum of activity. You can find more about all three of these antibiotics as each has its own article at, Treatments and Medications for Horses » Antibiotics and Antimicrobials.
DrO
|
|
|
