Veterinarians must warn about drugs' side effects! It's the law!

Ketoconazole is an anti-fungal drug (human drug is called Nizoral) that is used for animals with fungal infections. On October 21, 2006, the Senior Dogs Project received a report from Nice, France, where "Ralph," a dog belonging to an American living in France, died as a result of liver damage. The drug is suspected as being the cause of the liver damage. The report states that the veterinarian provided no warning about the potentially deadly side effects of the drug and neither did the manufacturer's label. The vet had warned only that Ketoconazole might cause vomiting at the beginning of treatment, but that, in time, the vomiting would stop. On the 'notice' sold with the drug, the statement made is: 'This medicine is very well tolerated except for rare cases of vomiting at the beginning of treatment.' Ralph did not vomit at first. He did, however, have diarrhea, orange urine (almost black), trembling, and fatigue, and his skin turned dark and peeled in large flakes. After one week, the side effects had not disappeared. The vet advised cutting the dose in two (from 200 to 100 mg daily), and that was Ralph's death sentence. On the 24th day after beginning treatment, even though the drug had been withdrawn, Ralph began to vomit. He vomited whether he ate or drank; nothing would stay down. A perfectly healthy dog (on August 14) was diagnosed with hepatitis most likely brought on by drug intoxication, which could only have come from the Ketoconazole. He died, suffering greatly.

Veterinary note: Ketoconazole is approved for veterinary use in France; however, it is not FDA- approved for animal use in the US, although it is widely used (note that you can buy it online). Every vet advising use of this drug should be fully aware that it: (1) Does not work for one in five dogs. (2) Can cause severe liver damage, and (3) Has a fairly high number of allergic reactions. There is a safer anti-fungal -- Fluconazole -- but that safety comes at a price -- around $12-$15 a pill -- although there may now be generic versions available or coming soon. There are many situations where fungal infections can be life-threatening. These are generally internal infections, not just skin allergic reactions, so these drugs do have a place and are a better alternative than simply suppressing the symptoms with steroids.

Dogs were still dying as of January 2006, due to poisoning from Diamond Dog Food. There was a recall from the manufacturer....and an additional article about it....Cornell University devises test to detect poisoned food..... from The State (South Carolina) newspaper:

....more info:

1/13/06 | Death for dogs increases in S.C.

1/11/06 | How lethal pet food got on store shelves

1/11/06 | Pet owners who sue may win reimbursement

Affected products

What to do

"Antibiotics are often harmful to patients. Sulfa/trimethoprim (Bactrim Rx, Tribrissen Rx, Ditrim Rx, Sulfatrim Rx, SMZ-TMP, other generic names) is an antibiotic that can cause joint inflammation in Dobermans and is implicated in immune mediated thrombocytopenia (ITP) in many dog breeds. Thrombocytes are the platelets in the blood, responsible for blood clotting. Thrombocytopenia is a decrease in the number of platelets. Obviously, if they get low enough there is a great risk to the pet. This antibiotic is still widely prescribed, though. It has a broad spectrum of action, it is inexpensive and most of the time it doesn't cause problems. The ITP is almost always reversible if the medication is withdrawn. Remembering that this antibiotic can cause this problem may help to save your pet's life, though. Penicillins can cause severe allergic reactions, even causing sudden death in a few patients. Many antibiotics cause diarrhea. Chloramphenicol has been associated with aplastic anemia in several species. Enrofloxacin (Baytril Rx) and tetracycline antibiotics should not be given to growing pets unless absolutely necessary due to the potential for problems with absorption of the medications into bone and/or teeth, causing defects. Amikacin and gentamicin are aminoglycoside antibiotics. This group of antibiotics can cause deafness and kidney failure. Use of antibiotics should be restricted to conditions which are likely to respond to appropriate antibiotic therapy since these are not harmless medications. When they are necessary it is obvious that some risk of use is justified."

More info on Greenies on 2/15/06 from CNN news.....

The link at the left takes you to the pages on the srdogs.com site containing information -- both pro and con -- about Rimadyl.

Visit the site: "Veterinary Drug Information"