In dogs with metaldehyde intoxication, are benzodiazepines more effective than methocarbamol in relaxing muscles and reducing tremors?

Liatis, T. (2020) In dogs with metaldehyde intoxication, are benzodiazepines more effective than methocarbamol in relaxing muscles and reducing tremors? Veterinary Evidence, 52(2), (doi: 10.18849/ve.v5i2.292)

Abstract

Question: In dogs with metaldehyde intoxication, are benzodiazepines (e.g. diazepam, midazolam) more effective than methocarbamol in relaxing muscles and reducing tremors? Clinical bottom line: The category of research question was treatment/prognosis/risk/diagnosis/prevalence/incidence Treatment: The number and type of study designs that were critically appraised were… Five papers were critically reviewed. There were 5 retrospective case-series. Critical appraisal of the selected papers meeting the inclusion criteria collectively provide zero/weak/moderate/strong evidence in terms of their experimental design and implementation. Weak. The outcomes reported are summarised as follows. Currently, 5 retrospective case series exist in the literature which discuss metaldehyde intoxication cases treated mainly with benzodiazepines, a few of which had methocarbamol. There is not really any study to compare directly benzodiazepines with methocarbamol. In addition to that, commercial (e.g. the low availability of methocarbamol in the UK market comparing to the US market), administrational (e.g. multiple administration routes of benzodiazepines) and pharmacological (e.g. lack of anticonvulsant function of methocarbamol) factors have played an important role to the treatment choice. Several case reports exist as well. In view of the strength of evidence and the outcomes from the studies the following conclusion is made… Currently, there is insufficient evidence to determine whether benzodiazepines are more effective than methocarbamol in relaxing muscles and reducing occurrence of muscle tremors.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Liatis, Dr Theophanes
• Authors: Liatis, T.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
• Journal Name: Veterinary Evidence
• Publisher: RCVS Knowledge
• ISSN: 2396-9776
• ISSN (Online): 2396-9776
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2020 The Author
• First Published: First published in Veterinary Evidence 52(2)
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License