APOQUEL is not supposed to be used casually and not on severe dog skin allergy issues. But before considering it, its worth knowing how bad some of the bad reactions can be.

One of the largest field studies used to assess the “effectiveness and safety of oclacitinib” for the control of atopic dermatitis in dogs  INCLUDED

• 152 dogs treated with APOQUEL
• 147 dogs treated with placebo.

This kind of blind trial is always recommended to evaluate safety, but of course long term effects over the life of a dog are usually only found well after dogs have been taking it, for life.

The study found that, the majority of dogs in the placebo group withdrew from the 112-day study by Day 16.  BECAUSE they figured that all of the information they needed to collect was collected by then. wonder if they are allowed to do that with human drug tests??

Here are the fun side effect facts for apoquel and placebo dogs

They say adverse reactions reported (and percent of dogs affected) during Days 0-16 included:

• anorexia (2.6% APOQUEL, 0% placebo),
• diarrhea (4.6% APOQUEL, 3.4% placebo),
• lethargy (2.0% APOQUEL, 1.4% placebo). vomiting (3.9% APOQUEL, 4.1% placebo),
• new cutaneous or subcutaneous lump (2.6% APOQUEL, 2.7% placebo),
• They say that “In most cases” diarrhea, lethargy, anorexia, vomiting   resolved with continued dosing.

The thing I dont understand is why did such high percentages of dogs under placebo fall sick?  Sure they were probably fed a wheat diet which is good for no dog, but when 3.4 percent of dogs in 12 days experience diarrhoea  that is 3.4 % x  147 =  5 DOGS !   Is it normal for normal dogs under controlled conditions to have diarrhoea from quality “dog food”  ?

Doesnt that kind of murky what the whole test can be assessed for when even the placebo dogs are getting so sick ?

Dogs on APOQUEL had decreased leukocytes (neutrophil, eosinophil, and monocyte counts) and serum globulin, and increased cholesterol and lipase compared to the placebo group but group means remained within the normal range.  Google also says leukocytes  are ” a colourless cell which circulates in the blood & body fluids and is involved in stopping foreign substances and disease.  It is essentially a white (blood) cell.

There are several types of leukocytes , such as lymphocytes, granulocytes, and monocytes.”

Extra studies on apoquel for dog atopy

283 dogs  were given a trial for an extended period. RESULTS

one dog that had an intense flare-up of dermatitis and severe secondary pyoderma after 19 days of APOQUEL administration, and one dog that developed generalized demodicosis after 28 days of APOQUEL administration.

Two dogs on APOQUEL were withdrawn from study due to suspected or confirmed malignant neoplasia and subsequently euthanized,

One of the 147 dogs (roingal test) placebo group developed a Grade I mast cell tumor and was withdrawn from the masked study.

Additional dogs receiving APOQUEL were hospitalized for diagnosis and treatment of pneumonia (one dog), transient bloody vomiting and stool (one dog), and cystitis with urolithiasis (one dog).

Other issues for the 283 dogs that received APOQUEL,

(additional clinical signs)

• pyoderma (12.0%),  (severe bacterial infection in dogs)
• non-specified dermal lumps (12.0%),   a massive percentage
• otitis (9.9%),  Often connected with dog skin infammation from the original dog allergy
• vomiting (9.2%), diarrhea (6.0%),
• histiocytoma (3.9%),    benign tumor

• cystitis (3.5%),   infection of the bladder that almost always follows (is secondary to) bacterial infection
• anorexia (3.2%),
• lethargy (2.8%),
• yeast skin infections (2.5%),
• pododermatitis (2.5%),
• lipoma (2.1%),
• polydipsia (1.4%),
• lymphadenopathy   (1.1%),
• nausea (1.1%),
• increased appetite (1.1%),
• aggression (1.1%),
• weight loss (0.7).

 

CONCLUSION

I am beginning to see why this is used by vets only.