In a controlled field study, 82 horses with osteoarthritis were treated with Surpass™ topical cream (42 horses) or placebo (40 horses). Lameness examinations were performed in horses with osteoarthritis associated with the tarsal, carpal, metacarpophalangeal, metatarsophalangeal and proximal interphalangeal joints. Investigators were masked to treatment. Investigators and owners were instructed to apply the test article over the affected joint twice daily (BID) for five days. Actual doses received by individual horses were calculated using tube weight measurements. The mean dose applied during the study was 73 mg per application. Average lameness scores showed statistically significant improvement following treatment with Surpass topical cream.
One diclofenac-treated horse developed colic and responded to symptomatic treatment on day four of the study. Day five bloodwork for the horse that colicked showed decreases in RBC, Hb and HCT, with an increase in PMNs, compared to pretreatment values. One placebo-treated horse exhibited mildly jaundiced mucous membranes on day five. No other adverse reactions were noted during the study.
Animal Safety
A controlled safety study was conducted with Surpass topical cream. Four groups of six healthy adult horses received 0, 0.6, 1.7 or 2.8X the recommended daily dose for twenty-eight days. The daily dose was divided into two applications on day one of the study. For the remainder of the study, the entire daily dose was given at one time on 0, 1, 3 or 5 joints (tarsal, carpal, metacarpophalangeal, metatarsophalangeal, and proximal interphalangeal joints), depending on the dosage group. The control group of six horses was sham-dosed by rubbing the joints daily for twenty-eight days. An additional study group evaluated six horses that received 5.6X the recommended daily dose of Surpass topical cream distributed over five joints on a single day. This dose group was observed for fourteen days without additional treatment.
Clinical examinations, hematology, serum chemistry, synovial fluid analyses, gross necropsy and histopathology were performed. At necropsy, one horse in the 5.6X group had a glandular gastric ulcer. A horse in the 2.8X group had diarrhea and uterine discharge throughout the study. Four of the six horses in the 5.6X group lost weight during the study.
Dose-dependent increases in diclofenac plasma concentrations were detected in horses in the 1.7X and 2.8X treatment groups.
