Long-term effects of meloxicam in the treatment of respiratory disease in fattening cattle

Abstract

The long-term effects of a single dose of meloxicam (Metacam 20 mg/ml; Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica) in conjunction with antibiotic therapy in cattle with clinical signs of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) was evaluated in a blind, controlled, randomised study. Two hundred animals with clinical signs of brd received a single subcutaneous injection of 20 mg/kg oxytetracycline; 100 of them also received a subcutaneous injection of 0.5 mg/kg meloxicam, and the other 100 received an injection of isotonic saline. The animals were weighed before they were treated and seven, 35, 70 and 105 days later, and finally before they were slaughtered. The mean bodyweight of the meloxicam-treated animals was significantly higher from day 70 until slaughter, and the mean average daily weight gain until slaughter and the mean carcase weight of the animals treated with meloxicam were significantly higher. In the animals with lung lesions, significantly less lung tissue was affected in those that had been treated with meloxicam.