Effects of meloxicam on reproduction parameters in dairy cattle.

This study was carried out in dairy cattle with the NSAID meloxicam to investigate possible drug effects on different reproductive parameters as well as on the progeny. Forty-one cows received intravenous injection of either meloxicam (Metacam 20 mg/mL solution for injection) or placebo at a dose volume of 7.5 mL/100 kg, corresponding to a dose of 1.5 mg meloxicam/kg, i.e. three times the recommended therapeutic dose. Treatment was performed in each phase of reproduction, i.e. once prior to breeding, twice shortly after breeding, once at the beginning of the second and third trimester of gestation and once at the end of the third trimester of gestation. Offspring of the cows were weighed and clinically examined for vitality at birth and after 28 days. No relevant difference between the meloxicam and control group was found in the reproductive performance of the cows or in the body weight development or vitality of the calves.

Investigation on the efficacy of meloxicam in sows with mastitis-metritis-agalactia syndrome.

The efficacy of meloxicam in the treatment of sows with mastitis-metritis-agalactia syndrome was investigated in comparison with flunixin. Basic therapy comprised administration of an antibiotic and oxytocin. A total of 200 sows and litters were examined in a double-blind clinical study with observations up to 8 days after the first treatment. The primary parameter, the clinical index score on day 2, consisting of rectal temperature, feed intake, general demeanour, respiratory rate, vaginal discharge, degree of inflammation of mammary glands, milk flow and nursing behaviour, revealed a significant (P < or = 0.05) non-inferiority of meloxicam in comparison with flunixin implying equal efficacy of both drugs. No significant differences were noted in the distribution of clinical efficacy scores within both groups at each day of examination. The differences in litter weight and daily weight gain per piglet were not significant between the two test groups. The mortality rates until day 8 of the study were without significant difference between groups. In piglets of diseased litters, however, the mortality rate was 50% lower in the meloxicam group in comparison with the reference group, this difference reaching statistical significance (P < or = 0.05).

Ethics in dental practice.

To gain patients' confidence, these moral guidelines offer specific consideration in presenting treatment choices, gaining consent, and responding to patients' decisions. When the dentist-patient relationship is one of mutual trust, unusual and difficult situations are easier to solve.