title: Randomized masked controlled clinical trial to compare 7-day and 14-day course length of doxycycline in the treatment of Mycoplasma felis infection in shelter cats.
abstract: The aim of this study was to compare the clinical and microbial efficacy of a 7-day or a 14-day course of doxycycline for the treatment of Mycoplasma felis-infected cats with clinical signs of upper respiratory tract disease (URTD) assessed using clinical scoring criteria. Cats were randomly allocated to either the Doxy-7 group (N=20; 7-day course of oral doxycyline liquid followed by 7-days placebo); or the Doxy-14 group (N=20; 14-day course of oral doxycycline). There were no significant differences in Mycoplasma load between groups at Day 1 or Day 7 (P>0.05), but at Day 14 mean Mycoplasma load was lower in the Doxy-14 group (P=0.01). Mycoplasma load reduced over Days 1-7 in each group (P<0.01), but only the Doxy-14 group had a significantly reduced Mycoplasma load at Day 14 compared to Day 1 (P<0.01). On Day 14, 11 (55%) cats in the Doxy-7 group and 5 (25%) cats in the Doxy-14 group had positive PCR results for M. felis. There was a statistically significant reduction within each group across the Day 1-7 period for ocular discharge, nasal discharge, demeanor, and food intake scores (P<0.01 for each score category). Nasal discharge scores and sneezing scores were statistically lower in the Doxy-14 group than in the Doxy-7 group on individual days during the Day 8-14 period (P<0.05). We conclude that in M. felis-infected cats with clinical signs of URTD, a 14-day course of oral doxycycline produced superior microbial but not clinical results compared to a 7-day course of treatment.
authors.affiliation: PAWS Chicago Rescue and Recovery Center, 2516 W 26th Street, Chicago, IL 60623, USA.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kompare
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Litster
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Leutenegger
authors.forename: H-Y
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Weng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D002415:Cats; D004318:Doxycycline / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D009174:Mycoplasma / Q000235:genetics; D009175:Mycoplasma Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000662:veterinary*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004318:Doxycycline