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Amikacin (antibiotic) for rabbits?

A

AlisonA

Warren Veteran
:wave: Someone I know has a bun with an abscess, we were discussing what treatment was being used and her vet seems to be using something called Amikacin to treat it. I've never heard of it before, a quick google search brought up this: http://www.lagomorphs.com/Drugsbyclass.pdf so it looks as if it is ok but I was wondering if anyone else has heard of its use or knows how effective or 'safe' it is?

I wonder if maybe her vet wasn't trained in the UK and it's a more common drug used elsewhere in the world as it just seemed an odd choice to me:?

Anyone used it or know of its use in rabbits before? How well did it work? Why would the vet choose this as a first choice do you suppose??

Thanks :D
 
Never had it prescribed for any of my Buns. Here is what it says in 'Notes on Rabbit Internal Medicine' :

Amikacin or Gentamicin- Aminoglycoside antibiotics.
No GI absorption, poor CNS penetration, need multiple injections each day to maintain therapeutic levels ; risks of nephrotoxicity

May be useful in the management of severe systemic infection, and may be of use by local injection into abscess capsule.
Licenced ocular preparation in UK ( Tiacil)

Janex
 
Just Googled:

'Tiacil contains the active ingredient gentamicin. Gentamicin sulphate is a broad spectrum antibiotic of the aminoglycoside group'.

So, yes, it's the same stuff.
 
Tiacil contains Gentamicin which is in the same group of abx as Amikacin.
It would appear to be of more use as a topical abx rather than a systemic one :?

Perhaps Alison's friend's Bun is having Amikacin applied directly into the abscess capsule :?

Janex
 
This is an extract from AllExperts by Dana Krempels :

In some cases, combining injectable amikacin with a fluoroquinolone can *really* be effective, as the two classes of drugs work synergistically. We've had rabbits and hares with pneumonia that *would not* resolve until we combined these two drugs, and only then did we see complete resolution with no return of infection.

The caution is that amikacin, like all the aminoglycoside antibiotics, can be nephrotoxic (nasty to the kidneys!). So when we use it, we also add subcutaneous fluids to be sure the antibiotics are well flushed through the kidneys, and don't cause problems. Of all the aminoglycosides, amikacin is the most benign, and we've seen no adverse side effects as long as it's used with care and under the supervision of a good vet.

Janex
 
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