Lloyd E. Davis

Drugs and the Liver

The authors discuss the livers influence on drug disposition in the body and the influence of drugs on the liver. Drug-induced hepatotoxicity with regard to mechanisms and causative agents is discussed, as well as administration of drugs to patients with existing liver disease.

Species Differences in Drug Disposition as Factors in Alleviation of Pain

The veterinarian has an absolute ethical obligation to alleviate pain and suffering in his animal patients. This commitment stems from the purposes of the profession, which every veterinarian swears to espouse (5). The fulfillment of this obligation may often be difficult because the veterinarian is asked to care for the health of the entire animal kingdom, with the exception of human beings. The essence of veterinary pharmacology, as opposed to human medical pharmacology, lies in the species differences existing in the effects, actions, disposition, dosage, and other properties of drugs (6). Among mammalian species, there is little difference in the actions and effects of various drugs (10); the principal variables affecting intensity of pharmacological effects are drug absorption, distribution, excretion, and biotransformation.

Adverse Drug Reactions in the Horse

Adverse drug reactions occasionally occur in the horse. The majority can be anticipated and avoided. The practicing veterinarian should understand the various types of adverse reactions as well as their mechanisms so that should such a reaction occur, the practitioner can promptly recognize the problem and institute corrective measures.

Drug Therapy During Pregnancy and in the Neonate

This article presents important clinical pharmacologic aspects of drug therapy during pregnancy. It reviews the potential adverse effects on the mother and conceptus caused by drugs and includes specific recommendations for therapy. Extensive tables are included that list drugs that are safe and those that are contraindicated during pregnancy.

Review of glucocorticoid pharmacology.

Rational glucocorticoid therapy depends on a complicated interplay of many factors. An understanding of the physiology of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, the comparative potencies, duration, and adverse effects of the available corticosteroid bases and their esters, and especially the specific goals of the therapy for a wide variety of diseases facilitates this therapy. It is impossible to make specific dose recommendations for glucocorticoid therapy. Individual patients and their various diseases respond differently to a given dose of glucocorticoid.

Effect of vehicle on intrauterine absorption of gentamicin in cattle

Abstract An intrauterine (IU) infusion of 4 ml gentamicin solution (G) was administered in a water vehicle to 4 normal cycling and healthy cows and in a saline vehicle to 4 other cows during the diestrous phase (days 7–14) of the cycle. Infusion solution (IS) and blood samples were collected periodically postinfusion. G concentration was determined in plasma and IS by radioimmunoassay. Eighty-three and 18% of the infused G disappeared from the uterine lumen by 6 hours postinfusion on using water and saline vehicles, respectively. Total amounts of G reaching the blood stream were nearly the same during the 6 hours postinfusion period using water and saline vehicles. This suggested the possibility of retention of drug in uterine tissue using the distilled water vehicle.