Product description

Medrol is a methylprednisolone tablet for cats and dogs.

Active ingredients

Each Medrol tablet contains:

• Methylprednisolone 4 mg

Indications for use

• The indications for Medrol tablets are the same as those for other anti-inflammatory steroids and comprise the various collagen, dermal, allergic, ocular, otic, and musculoskeletal conditions known to be responsive to the anti-inflammatory corticosteroids.

• Representative of the conditions in which the use of steroid therapy and the benefits to be derived therefrom have had repeated confirmation in the veterinary literature are:

  • Dermal conditions, such as non-specific eczema, summer dermatitis, and burns.
  • Allergic manifestations, such as acute urticaria, allergic dermatitis, drug and serum reactions, bronchial asthma, and pollen sensitivities.
  • Ocular conditions, such as iritis, iridocyclitis, secondary glaucoma, uveitis, and chorioretinitis.
  • Otic conditions, such as otitis externa.
  • Musculoskeletal conditions, such as myositis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and bursitis.
  • Various chronic or recurrent diseases of unknown etiology such as ulcerative colitis and nephrosis.

• In acute adrenal insufficiency, Medrol may be effective because of its ability to correct the defect in carbohydrate metabolism and relieve the impaired diuretic response to water characteristic of primary or secondary adrenal insufficiency. However, because this agent lacks significant mineralocorticoid activity, the parent hormones, SOLU-CORTEF containing hydrocortisone sodium succinate, CORTEF containing hydrocortisone, or cortisone should be used when salt retention is indicated.

Administration and dosage

• The keystone of satisfactory therapeutic management with Medrol Tablets, as with its steroid predecessors, is individualization of dosage in reference to the severity of the disease, the anticipated duration of steroid therapy, and the animal patient's threshold or tolerance for steroid excess.

• The prime objective of steroid therapy should be to achieve a satisfactory degree of control with a minimum effective daily dose.

• The dosage recommendations are suggested average total daily doses and are intended as guides. As with other orally administered corticosteroids, the total daily dose of Medrol should be given in equally divided doses. The initial suppressive dose level is continued until a satisfactory clinical response is obtained, a period usually of 2 to 7 days in the case of musculoskeletal diseases, allergic conditions affecting the skin or respiratory tract, and ocular inflammatory diseases.

• If a satisfactory response is not obtained in 7 days, reevaluation of the case to confirm the original diagnosis should be made. As soon as a satisfactory clinical response is obtained, the daily dose should be reduced gradually, either to termination of treatment in the case of acute conditions (eg, seasonal asthma, dermatitis, acute ocular inflammations) or to the minimal effective maintenance dose level in the case of chronic conditions (eg,rheumatoid arthritis).

• In chronic conditions, and in rheumatoid arthritis especially, it is important that the reduction in dosage from initial to maintenance dose levels be accomplished slowly. The maintenance dose level should be adjusted from time to time as required by fluctuation in the activity of the disease and the animal's general status. Accumulated experience has shown that the long-term benefits to be gained from continued steroid maintenance are probably greater the lower the maintenance dose level. In rheumatoid arthritis in particular, maintenance steroid therapy should be at the lowest possible level.

• In the therapeutic management of animal patients with chronic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, methylprednisolone should be regarded as a highly valuable adjunct, to be used in conjunction with but not as replacement for standard therapeutic measures.

Average total daily oral doses for dogs and cats:

The total daily dose should be given in divided doses, 6 to 10 hours apart.

Prescribing information