15/08/2023
Do you give Cerenia “in the bubble” or out? Will this change your practice?
As a veterinary assistant, technician, student, and veterinarian, I've worked with doctors and at practices on both sides of the 'Cerenia in the Bubble' debate.
For those outside of the field, Cerenia, or Maropitant, is an injectable and oral medication often used for treating nausea or vomiting. When used in the clinic as an injectable for outpatient care, pets are often also receiving fluids under the skin for hydration support (since vomiting can be dehydrating).
Some clinics and practitioners give Cerenia in the same spot as the fluids, reasoning that it stings less and likely works just as well.
Others recommend against it, because effectiveness has not been validated for that use, and the stinging caused by the injection seems to be very short-lived.
When talking about this, I was once challenged, “well are there any studies showing it DOESN’T work as well in the fluid bubble?”
At the time, no.
However, a paper published in JAVMA this year found that when administered into subcutaneous LRS, a commonly used fluid, Cerenia was absorbed slower and had a lower peak concentration.
The study did not assess the clinical impact of this; but it would follow that effectiveness of the drug could theoretically be reduced due to lower absorption.
The study: https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.22.09.0409