Abstract
Background: Dexamethasone is routinely administered to horses but its effect on the antibody response to a commercial EIV/EHV vaccine is unclear. Hypothesis: Horses receiving dexamethasone will have lower postvaccination antibody levels against EIV and EHV-1 than vaccinated controls. Animals: Fifty-five healthy adult research horses. Methods: Randomized cohort study. Control (no vaccine, group 1), vaccination only (EIV/EHV-1/EHV-4, Prestige 2, Merck Animal Health, group 2), vaccination and concurrent single intravenous dose of dexamethasone (approximately.05 mg/kg, group 3), vaccination and 3 intravenous doses of dexamethasone at 24 hours intervals (group 4). Serum SAA levels were measured on day 1 and day 3. Antibody levels against EIV (hemagglutination inhibition assay, Kentucky 2014 antigen) and EHV-1 (multiplex ELISA targeting total IgG and IgG 4/7) were measured on day 1 and day 30. Results: Significantly increased mean antibody titers after vaccination were only noted against EIV and only after the vaccination alone (n = 14, prevaccine mean [prvm] 166.9, SD 259.6, 95% CI 16.95-316.8; postvaccine mean [povm] 249.1, SD 257.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] 100.6-397.6, P =.02) and the single dose dexamethasone (n = 14, prvm 93.14, SD 72.2, CI 51.45-134.8; povm 185.1, SD 118, CI 116.7-253.6, P =.01), but not after multiple doses of dexamethasone (n = 14, prvm 194.3, SD 258.3, CI 45.16-343.4; povm 240.0, SD 235.7, CI 103.9-376.1, P >.05). Conclusion: The effect of dexamethasone on the postvaccine antibody response varies depending on the dosing frequency and the antigen-specific antibody type.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 424-430 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 1 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2023 The Authors. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.
Funding
This research was funded by the Center for Equine Health, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, with additional contributions from public and private donors. The authors thank Merck Animal Health for providing the Prestige 2 vaccine. Thomas M. Chambers and Stephanie Reedy were supported by project number KY014067 of the Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station. Further, the authors thank the staff of the Center for Equine Health (CEH) of the University of Davis, California, for their dedicated care of the horses enrolled in the study and their help with sample collection. This research was funded by the Center for Equine Health, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, with additional contributions from public and private donors. The authors thank Merck Animal Health for providing the Prestige 2 vaccine. Thomas M. Chambers and Stephanie Reedy were supported by project number KY014067 of the Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station. Further, the authors thank the staff of the Center for Equine Health (CEH) of the University of Davis, California, for their dedicated care of the horses enrolled in the study and their help with sample collection.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| University of California Davis | |
| School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA | KY014067 |
| Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station | |
| Merck Animal Health |
Keywords
- corticosteroids
- horse
- immune
- medicine
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Veterinary
