title: Prednisolone at anti-inflammatory or immunosuppressive dosages in conjunction with doxycycline does not potentiate the severity of Rickettsia rickettsii infection in dogs.
abstract: Dogs were experimentally inoculated with Rickettsia rickettsii to determine if anti-inflammatory or immunosuppressive dosages of prednisolone, when administered in conjunction with an antirickettsial antibiotic (doxycycline), induced therapeutically relevant pathophysiological consequences that ultimately influence disease outcome. Although the duration of rickettsemia was prolonged in dogs receiving immunosuppressive, but not anti-inflammatory, corticosteroids, concurrent administration of doxycycline and corticosteroids conferred no other detected detrimental effects. Treatment with doxycycline or doxycycline in conjunction with prednisolone resulted in decreased R. rickettsii-specific antibody titers; however, examination of appropriately timed acute- and convalescent-phase serum samples would have facilitated an accurate diagnosis of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) in all 16 dogs. We conclude that the concurrent use of anti-inflammatory or immunosuppressive doses of prednisolone in conjunction with doxycycline, early in the course of experimental RMSF, confers no clinically relevant detrimental effects and that additional studies might be indicated to detect possible beneficial effects in cases of severe or potentially fulminant RMSF. However, because the illness induced in these dogs was of mild to moderate severity, the results of this study should definitely not be construed as supporting the safety or efficacy of prednisolone for treatment of severe canine or human RMSF.
authors.affiliation: Department of Companion Animal and Special Species Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh 27606, USA. ed_breitschwerdt@ncsu.edu
authors.forename: E B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Breitschwerdt
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Davidson
authors.forename: B C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Hegarty
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Papich
authors.forename: C B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Grindem
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D004285:Dogs; D004318:Doxycycline / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011239:Prednisolone / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012284:Rickettsia rickettsii / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012373:Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D011239:Prednisolone; D004318:Doxycycline