Dexmedetomidine oromucosal gel reduces fear and anxiety in dogs during veterinary visits: A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical pilot study

Abstract

Introduction: Many dogs are anxious and/or fearful in veterinary clinics and exhibit avoidant and/or defensive behaviour. The purpose of pharmacological interventions is to reduce anxiety and to enable patient-friendly, low stress physical examination and procedures.

Materials and methods: This was a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, multicentre, clinical-field study. The eligible dogs (n = 76) were randomly assigned to receive dexmedetomidine 0.1 mg/g oromucosal gel at a dose of 125 μg/m² (n = 27) or 250 μg/m² (n = 24), or an equivalent volume of placebo gel (n = 23).

Results: The investigator's ability to perform the intended procedure (physical examination and 1 short minor veterinary or husbandry procedure) was excellent for 40.7% of the dogs that received dexmedetomidine 125 μg/m² and 33.3% of those that received dexmedetomidine 250 μg/m² compared to only 4.3% of the placebo dogs. The overall treatment effect was statistically significant (p = 0.03). In addition, the investigators subjective stress level assessments revealed that dexmedetomidine treated dogs showed significantly more commonly relaxed body posture (p < 0.01) and more relaxed behaviour when entering the examination room (p = 0.02). There were very few adverse events, and treated animals were not sedated.

Conclusions: This study indicated a beneficial treatment effect of dexmedetomidine gel in alleviation of canine fear and anxiety during minor veterinary or husbandry procedures in the clinic environment in dogs previously reported to suffer from fear and anxiety during veterinary visits. Both dexmedetomidine gel doses studied were effective, and no clinical safety concerns were noticed for either dose.