Clinical Experience with Fuzapladib Sodium Treatment in Dogs with Complicated Acute Pancreatitis

Abstract: Background Treatment with fuzapladib sodium for dogs with complicated acute pancreatitis (cAP) and comorbidities has not been reported to date. Objective To describe the comorbidities, survival, and duration of hospitalization in dogs with cAP treated with fuzapladib sodium. Animals Seventeen client-owned dogs with cAP that were treated with fuzapladib sodium. Methods Retrospective case series. Cases were identified by review of hospital medical records. Signalment, comorbidities, clinicopathology, survival to discharge, and duration of hospitalization were documented. Results Median age and body weight were 9 years (range, 2–16) and 8 kg (2–37). When diagnosed with AP, 94% (16/17) of dogs had various comorbidities including active inflammation/infection (n=8), recent abdominal surgery (n=5), coagulopathy (n=6), and endocrinopathy (n=3). Dogs with endocrinopathies presented with diabetic ketoacidosis, diabetes, and pituitary-dependent hypercortisolism (n=1 each). Fuzapladib treatment was started at a median of 2 days (1–5) after the diagnosis of cAP. On Day 1 of fuzapladib treatment, the median leukocyte count was 16,500/µL (5,800–84,000), the median neutrophil count was 13,695/µL (3,654–62,937), and the median band count was 420/µL (0–10,101). No severe adverse events related to fuzapladib treatment were noted. Seventy-six percent (13/17) survived to discharge with a median duration of hospitalization of 4 days (2–23). The remaining 24% (4/17) of dogs were euthanized due to disease progression. Conclusions and Clinical Importance Fuzapladib sodium appeared beneficial for treating cAP in this group of dogs with various comorbidities and resulted in favorable outcomes as evidenced by a high survival to discharge and a relatively short duration of hospitalization.