Preliminary Study on the Effect of Flunixin Administration on Pharmacokinetics of Cefquinome in Diseased Cattle Calves

Cefquinome is one of the fourth generations of cephalosporins developed for veterinary use in treatment of respiratory diseases that are considered the second causes of death in calves. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as flunixin (NSAIDs) are widely prescribed with antibacterial agents in multiple drug prescriptions. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of co-administration of flunixin on the disposition kinetics of cefquinome after intramuscular injection in 10 diseased calves (Pasturella heamolytica infected). Cefquinome was injected in a single dose (2 mg/kg BW) in 5 diseased calves alone and coupled with flunixin (1mg/kg BW) in the other 5 diseased calves. Blood samples (5 mL) were collected from the right jugular vein of each calve immediately before treatment and at intervals of 0, 5, 10, 15 and 30 min, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 24 hours, 48, 72, 96 and 120 h (5 days) after cefquinome administration. The obtained samples were assayed with the plate microbiological assay method using Sarcina lutea (ATCC 9341) as test organism. The plasma cefquinome concentration at 5 min after intramuscular injection of cefquinome alone and coupled with flunixin was 0.27 ± 0.05 μg/mL and 0.35 ± 0.12 μg/mL, respectively and reached the highest concentration (1.02 ± 0.12 μg/mL and 1.02 ± 0.08 μg/mL) at 1 h, respectively. The obtained data showed no significant effect of coupled administration of flunixin with cefquinome on either concentration or peak concentration of cefquinome in plasma of diseased calves. It is concluded that flunixin can be used successfully with cefquinome in treatment of bacterial respiratory diseases associated with inflammation in calves.