Background: Cimicoxib is a coxib recently
licensed in Europe for pain and inflammation associated with osteoarthritis
(OA), and the management of perioperative pain due to orthopaedic or soft
tissue surgery. Purpose: This prospective study was to complete the product
information for the end users by providing additional scientific data obtained
after a thirty-day treatment course of cimicoxib in dogs with OA, and to
collect owners’ feedback. Data were collected from nine European countries with
492 client owned dogs recruited to the trial. Dogs were treated once daily with
2 mg/kg cimicoxib orally. Immediately before, at Day (D) 15 and D30 after the
start of treatment veterinarians and owners scored body condition, appetite,
locomotion, lameness, pain on palpation and manipulation of the joint and joint
effusion (veterinarians) and dog demeanor and well being (owners). In a subset
of dogs, serum urea (n = 191), creatinine (n = 184), AST (n = 141) and ALT (n =
174) were measured at day (D) 0 and D30. Statistical tests were carried out to
detect significant changes in the clinical parameters with time. Results and
Discussion: Veterinary and owner assessments were analysed from 236 and 215 dogs
respectively. Improvements in locomotion, mobility, pain scores and dog
demeanor and body condition were identified; outcome measures assessed by
veterinarians continued to improve after 15 days of treatment up to the 30-day
time point. At D30 a significantly higher number of dogs had an urea
concentration superior to the upper limit of the reference range. However,
there was no significant difference for creatinine, ALT and AST. Conclusions: A
30-day treatment course with cimicoxib improved locomotion and decreased pain
scores in dogs with OA, with minimal adverse effects. These data, support
pre-clinical data in dogs receiving cimicoxib and are useful for veterinarians
making decisions about which NSAID to administer to dogs that require pain
management for OA.