Efficacy of etodolac for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the hip jointsin dogs

Objective-To assess-the efficacy of etodolac in improving hind limb functio n in dogs with osteoarthritis of the hip joint. Design-Prospective study. Animals-100 client-owned dogs with clinical signs of osteoarthritis of the hip joint. Procedure-Baseline ground reaction forces and subjective assessment scores were collected twice at: a 7- to 10-day interval. After meeting entrance cr iteria, dogs were randomly assigned to the following 3 treatment groups: co ntrol group (0 mg of etodolac), low-dosage group (135 mg of etodolac), or h igh-dosage group (450 mg of etodolac). Dogs were treated once daily for 8 d ays, and gait analysis was repeated on day 8. Results-On day 8 of treatment, vertical impulse and vertical peak force val ues for low- and high-dosage groups were significantly greater than baselin e values within each group. On day 8, vertical impulse values from the high -dosage group were significantly greater than values from the low-dosage gr oup. Vertical peak forces for the low- and high-dosage groups were signific antly greater at 8 days than that of the control group. Analysis of the eff ect of evaluation center (site) on treatment outcome did not reveal a signi ficant effect. Clinical Implications-Etodolac administration for 8 days improved ground re action forces in dogs with osteoarthritis ol:the hip joint. improvement in force transmission was dosage dependent: for the primary outcome measuremen t (vertical impulse). Results of the study indicate that etodolac is well t olerated by dogs, with minimal adverse effects during an 8-day treatment pe riod.