The FDA recently approved dipyrone to address fever in horses with respiratory infections. | Photo: iStock

Dipyrone is a drug used in human and veterinary medicine for pain relief, fever reduction, muscle spasm suppression, and as an anti-inflammatory. In horses, veterinarians need to control fevers as quickly as possible to minimize deleterious systemic effects and improve patient well-being, Sundman explained.

To test dipyrone’s ability to reduce horses’ body temperature, she and her team conducted two studies on adult horses with respiratory infections and rectal temperatures of at least 102 degrees Fahrenheit.

Study 1

Sundman said they performed the first study, done without a placebo group, simply to determine what to expect from the drug. Her team gave eight affected horses a single intravenous (IV) 30 mg/kg dose of dipyrone and took rectal temperatures before drug administration and one, two, three, and six hours later