Differences in NSAID Toxicity in Four Avian Species

Differences in NSAID Toxicity in Four Avian Species

The non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are clinically applied in birds however their impact in birds is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the pharmaco-toxicological effect of diclofenac and acetyl-salicylic acid in four avian species, including broiler chickens, domestic pigeons, budgerigars and common quails. Our goal was to determine the effect of water deprivation to the investigated active agents’ toxicology in all four species. Diclofenac (5 and 50 mg/kg bw.) and acetyl-salicylic acid (50 mg/kg bw.) were administered orally to four birds per group of each species for 3 days. Twelve birds were used of each species; all of them were partially deprived of water (20 ml/kg bw). Another twelve broiler chickens had free access to water to compare the impact of partial water deprivation to NSAID exposure. Both doses of diclofenac caused harmful effects in the examined species. Six of eight broiler chickens died after the second exposure, the cause of death was serious visceral gout. The high dose diclofenac caused death in all four species; pigeon was the least sensitive to diclofenac. The water-deprivation significantly accelerated the mortality of chickens. The acetyl-salicylic acid was clinically well-tolerated in all examined species..