DEBATE ON DEX / SOLU-DELTA / CORTICO-STEROIDS

[Officially Retired]

Most of these drugs, especially in humans, are given mainly for swelling, especially people that have respiratory problems, so yeah, I'd agree that most of the dosages you find, especially for dex, etc is for some type of swelling.

That's what I thought.

I'll go through on a drug by drug basis.

Okay, thanks for your time and for helping to clarify.

Dex has varying dosages to be used. I've seen 0.5 mg/kg to 5mg/kg. The 5mg/kg is about equal to your 2.5mg/lb dosage. I think the mg/kg is a little less.

Exactly. Mg/kg would be a little less, but my article's recommendation is right about at the high-end of the the 5mg/kg max.

Dex Sodium Phosphate is one you left out. It has a much faster onset than normal dex, but has a shorter duration. There are 3 medical professionals that have varying dosages for Dex SP.

I did mention this actually, as my article cites Azium and Dex. Azium = Dex sodium phosphate; Dex = Dex.
What I didn't do was clarify what you just said above, so I will, and thank you.

A. 3 mg/kg of body weight per 24 hours by constant intravenous infusion after an initial intravenous injection of 20 mg
B. 2 to 6 mg/kg of body weight as a single intravenous injection
C. 40 mg initially followed by repeat intravenous injection every 4 to 6 hours while shock persists.

Interesting, and thank you. The 2-6 mg/kg ratio for B is 4-12x the low-end dose of .05mg/kg typically given for swelling.
Of these 3, which have you tried or would recommend?
My book essentially recommends Method B, well within the stated parameter.

Solu Delta is 2.5-5mg/lb as you have listed. The biggest difference is the amount of times you may give Solu Delta if needed. If needed, you can repeat q 1, 3, 6, or 10 hour intervals. For dogs under 40lbs, it's suggested to use 10mg/mL. For dogs over 40lbs, use 50mg/mL.

Thanks again for clarifying as well as showing other options.
I think Doc mentioned something about giving this drug more often also, but that would be an each-case, individual judgement call I reckon.

Solu Medrol is suggested at 5-30 mg/kg IV for shock therapy.

Thanks again for clarifying. 30 mg/kg = 13.6 mg/lb.
My article's recommendation, which came from Doc, said to use just over the high-end at 15 mg/lb, but certainly not by much.

When we're using things for people in shock, it's usually via IV push not mixed in the bag. If your vein were to blow, you want them to have that medicine in them before that happens. Most IV setups have an additional port that you can push meds through while administering fluids at the same time.

Good point to clarify, and thanks for stating it. That is how I've typically don't things, via the side port.

But 10 times the dose? That's ridiculous.

Not really. The shock dose is essentially 10x the swelling dose. Check your own numbers above.

Your own listed range for Dex is 0.5 mg/kg to 5mg/kg.
5mg/ml is exactly 10x the low-end 0.5/dose.

Your listed range for Solu-Medrol is 5-30 mg/kg
30mg/kg is 6x the low-end dose of 5 mg/kg.

Perhaps the confusion was in thinking 10x the high-end shock dosages, which would indeed be too much. My point was the dosages for shock are usually MUCH greater than the low-end doses for swelling.
For example, many dogmen only give 3 ml of dex IM for a dog after a roll, to avoid swelling, whereas if that same dog were at death's door he might need 30 ml IV to save his life.

Thanks again for your time and effort.

Jack