What is Compounded Veterinary Medicine or Drugs?
Compounded Veterinary Medicine or drugs are “a unique, custom-made product that fills a prescription written by a doctor when there is no commercially available alternative.” Simple enough! Compounded drugs in veterinary medicine have come under scrutiny lately. The reason is the ever-present concern with quality control. I use a compounding pharmacy from Arizona, Roadrunner Pharmacy. Verifying methods of quality control is of utmost importance in choosing a compounding pharmacy.
In small animals, especially dogs, the best use of compounded drugs is in the treatment of ear infections. Owner compliance in otitis is often poor! Painful ears and dosing frequency make traditional otic medicines difficult to administer. This is one reason why so many dogs have chronic ear infections. The owners either won’t, don’t or can’t treat the ears the way they need to be treated to control the infection.
How do we combat compliance issues with compounded veterinary medicine?
We use compounded medicine for ears! The compounded veterinary medicine we use is a lanolin- based delivery system. We would apply this medicine in the office and, therefore, no treatment is needed by you at home. The lanolin dissipates over a 7-10 day period. At the end of the 7-10 days, we recheck the ears to see if the infection is gone. If not, we re-treat in the office. If so, great, the infection is gone. Some of the different medicine on the lanolin based delivery system include; Dexamethasone for inflammation, Enrofloxacin for rod bacteria, Ampicillin for cocci bacteria, and Itraconazole for yeast. There are really no complications with using this otic preparation.
This is just one example of the benefits of compounded drugs in veterinary medicine. Other medicines that are commonly compounded include ophthalmic, transdermal gels for hyperthyroid in cats, endocrine agents, analgesics and seizure medications. Compounded medicine can also come flavored to your pet’s delight.
Contact our office for more information.
