Oct 19, 2020
Chapter 10: Medications
This protocol is a draft, published without a DOI.
- 1VulPro
- VulPro
Protocol Citation: Kerri Wolter 2020. Chapter 10: Medications. protocols.io https://protocols.io/view/chapter-10-medications-bmjkk4kw
License: This is an open access protocol distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Protocol status: Working
We use this protocol and it's working
Created: September 21, 2020
Last Modified: October 19, 2020
Protocol Integer ID: 42316
Keywords: vultures, vulture rehabilitation, vulture medication,
Abstract
This protocol provides information about medications for vulture rehabilitation and how to calculate drug dosage.
Attachments
Guidelines
Below is a list of the drugs most frequently used by the authors for vulture rehabilitation. The dosages listed below are those used and recommended based on our experience. However, it is always important to consult with your veterinarian. In addition to this, always check the information insert in the drug’s package to confirm the dosage recommended by the manufacturer (as on occasions the same drug may be available at different concentrations). Medications available in your region may not be the same as in South Africa and drug trade names and concentrations will vary. Always consult your veterinarian!
Some facilities deworm their vultures as a matter of routine. We recommend testing birds on admission and only deworming a vulture if it is suffering from an overwhelming burden of parasites. Wild animals typically carry a low level of parasites and build up ‘resilience’ towards them. They can cope with a low level. On occasion, if this burden is removed by deworming, animals can become immunologically ‘naïve’ and future parasite infections pose a problem.
Use of Antibiotics
The decision to treat with systemic antibiotics is not to be taken lightly. Development of antibiotic resistant bacteria is always a concern. For this reason, antibiotics should always be used judiciously. In ideal circumstances and with ideal resources, a wild vulture presenting for rehabilitation should have blood collected for a complete blood count (CBC) at minimum. See Chapter 8 for CBC reference ranges for various African vulture species. A white blood cell count greater than the upper limit of the reference range may warrant treatment with antibiotics. However, in many rehabilitation situations, performing a CBC may not be practical or possible. In these cases, consultation with a veterinarian is recommended.
Similarly, the use of antibiotics in wound treatment should ideally be informed by the collection of a swab from the wound which is submitted to a lab for bacterial culture and antibiotic sensitivity testing. When not practical or possible, the following should be considered in deciding whether or not systemic antibiotic treatment should be used in wound treatment: cause of the wound and age of the wound (if known), depth, surface area, and body part affected, gross contamination of the wound, and overt evidence of infection (increased warmth, redness, swelling, and/or discharge such as pus).
With the above-mentioned considerations in mind, there are certain conditions in which antibiotic treatment is always warranted:
- Compound (open) bone fractures
- Soft tissue wounds that expose bone, tendon, and/or ligament
- Wounds that are the result of an animal bite
- Severe bumble-foot (See Chapter 3)
- Severe electrical burns that require removal of necrotic tissue
- Osteomyelitis, as determined by radiography or appearance of exposed bone
- Upper respiratory infections
- Whenever more than one dose of dexamethasone is given [generally for treatment of seizures]
Safety warnings
The only vulture safe NSAID is Meloxicam (trade names Mobic, Metacam or Petcam)! Do not use ANY other NSAID. Research has shown all other tested NSAIDs to be toxic to vultures.
How to calculate volume of the drug
How to calculate volume of the drug
Calculate the dose required by multiplying the required dose rate (mg/kg) by the bird’s weight (kg). This gives you the dose required in mg.
To calculate the volume of drug required, you need to divide this value by the drug concentration (mg/ml).
Note
For example:
Drug dosage 20 mg/kg Bird weight 10 kg Concentration 50 mg/mL
20 x 10 = 200 mg. This is the dose of drug a 10k g bird must receive.
200 / 50 = 4ml. This is the volume of drug to be administered.