Retrospective Study of 240 Dogs Receiving Gabapentin for Chronic Pain Relief - Abstract
Our goal was to assess gabapentin dosage and tolerability in dogs taking it for chronic pain. We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 240 dogs taking gabapentin for chronic pain and systematically assessed: patient signalment, definitive diagnosis, location and description of pain, VAS scores immediately preceding and following the patient’s maximum gabapentin dose, maximum gabapentin dosage, presence or absence of side effects related to gabapentin use, use of NSAID/immunomodulator drugs and nutraceuticals, presence or absence of levothyroxine supplementation, surgical procedures, and physical medicine. The range of tolerated gabapentin doses was 6.9 - 500 mg/kg/day [3.1- 227.3 mg/lb], PO, q12 hr (every 12 hrs) and only 10% of patients experienced the most common side effect of sedation. The data support the hypothesis that gabapentin is a well-tolerated and safe analgesic over a wide range of doses. Gabapentin appears to be tolerated at much higher doses than has been previously described.