The Educated Guess: Determining Drug Doses in Exotic Animals Using Evidence-Based Medicine.

Area of Science:

• Veterinary pharmacology
• Comparative medicine
• Drug development

Background:

• Species-specific pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data are crucial for accurate pharmaceutical dose selection.
• Current dose extrapolation methods like linear and allometric scaling have limitations, potentially leading to toxicity or failing for certain species or drug types.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and discuss methods for veterinary dose design when specific pharmacokinetic data is unavailable.
• To highlight the importance of considering species similarity and physiological differences for evidence-based dose selection.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing dose extrapolation techniques, including linear and allometric scaling.
• Discussion of limitations associated with current methods, such as ignoring species drug metabolism and hepatic pathways.
• Consideration of evidence-based veterinary medicine principles for dose design.

Main Results:

• Linear scaling based on weight does not account for species-specific drug metabolism, increasing toxicity risk.
• Allometric scaling, while correlating body weight and metabolic rate, is unsuitable for drugs with significant hepatic metabolism and cannot be applied to avians or reptiles.
• Physiological differences between animal classes must be considered for effective dose extrapolation.

Conclusions:

• Accurate veterinary drug dosing requires species-specific data, and current extrapolation methods are often inadequate.
• A move towards evidence-based veterinary medicine, considering species physiology and metabolic pathways, is essential for safer and more effective drug use.
• Further research into advanced dose extrapolation models tailored for veterinary species is warranted.