Flea and tick treatment satisfaction, preference, and adherence reported by cat owners in the US, UK, or France who treated their cats with transdermal fluralaner.

Background: Fluralaner (Bravecto®) is an isoxazoline class compound that is the only topically applied systemic ectoparasiticide approved for dosing at up to 12-week intervals for flea and tick control in cats. Aim: To describe veterinarian recommendations for ectoparasiticide medications used in the UK and France along with veterinary recommendations previously reported from the US, as well as to assess cat owners' experience with a commercial transdermal spot-on fluralaner formulation administered to cats in the US and similarly describe the experiences of cat owners from the UK or France who administered fluralaner for feline flea and tick prevention. Methods: Clients of participating veterinary practices in the US, UK, or France who were visiting the clinic for a routine wellness visit, were currently treating their cat with fluralaner (Bravecto®), and had purchased at least two doses were asked to complete a short two-page survey about their experience with flea and tick medications including fluralaner and other products they may have been administered. Results: Owners in the US (451 cats), UK (512 cats), and France (520 cats) completed surveys. Most cat owners (66%-75%) had previously administered other flea and tick products. More than 94% of cat owners surveyed in each country were satisfied or very satisfied with fluralaner. The most frequently reported benefit of using fluralaner was the 12-week dosing interval, selected by 76% of respondents in the US, 82% in the UK, and 70% in France. 79%-88% of cat owners (depending on the country) thought that dosing with extended duration fluralaner was more convenient than dosing with monthly flea and tick products and 86%-89% of cat owners that had used other flea and tick products preferred fluralaner over the other flea and tick products. Conclusion: Veterinarians in the US, UK, and France recommended 12 months of flea protection and 9-11 months of tick protection per year, even though, in this study, cat owners usually purchased 1-3 months of protection per year. A longer flea and tick dosing interval, as seen with fluralaner, correlates with higher user satisfaction and preference among cat owners. Owners identified the 12-week dosing interval and single dose efficacy as the top reasons for selecting the fluralaner product for their cat. In all three countries, most cat owners indicated that they were more likely to deliver doses of extended duration fluralaner on time, compared to flea and tick products dosed monthly.

Open field study on the efficacy of fluralaner topical solution for long-term control of flea bite allergy dermatitis in client owned cats in Ile-de-France region.

BACKGROUND: Flea bite is considered to be the main cause of allergic dermatitis in cats. There is a need for treatments able to control clinical signs of allergic dermatitis associated with flea bite in cats. This was an open pre-treatment versus post-treatment clinical field study. All cats included in the study presented pruritus, skin lesions or other evidence compatible with flea infestation. Skin lesions were assessed (using SCORFAD) at days 0, 28, 56 and 84 whereas pruritus severity was assessed (using PVAS) at days 0, 15, 28, 56 and 84. On day 0, The fluralaner (280 mg/ml) product (Bravecto® spot-on for cats) was supplied in pipettes containing 0.4, 0.89 and 1.79 ml for cats of 1.2-2.8 kg, > 2.8-6.25 kg and > 6.25-12.5 kg body weight, respectively. The other animals living in the same household also received fluralaner. Based on cytological examination at day 0, oral amoxicillin and clavulanic acid was prescribed for 21 days if indicated. For cats presenting intense pruritus and discomfort at day 0, oral prednisolone at 0.5 mg/kg was prescribed for 3 days. RESULTS: During the study all cats, except for one (cat number 10), improved significantly. Post-treatment median SCORFAD scores at all evaluations were significantly different from the pre-treatment score on day 0 (P values < 0.002 for all three post treatment examination days) with a score reduction of 49% on day 28, 79% on day 56 and 87% on day 84. The PVAS score decreased significantly over the study period for all cats but one (cat number 10). Post-treatment median PVAS scores at all evaluations were significantly different from the pre-treatment PVAS score on day 0 (P value < 0.002 for all four post-treatment days) with a reduction of 46% on day 15, 67% on day 28, 82% on day 56 and 92% on day 84. No adverse reaction or other health issue was reported during the study. CONCLUSIONS: A single topical treatment with fluralaner results in a significant reduction of flea bite allergic dermatitis clinical signs in cats over the subsequent 12 weeks without any additional environmental treatment.

Open field study on the efficacy of oral fluralaner for long-term control of flea allergy dermatitis in client-owned dogs in Ile-de-France region.

BACKGROUND: Fluralaner is the first orally administered isoxazoline to provide 12 weeks of activity against fleas and ticks after a single administration. As a result of its potent anti-flea activity, oral fluralaner may be proposed as a component of a strategy for the control of flea allergy dermatitis (FAD) in dogs. The open field study reported here assessed the efficacy of fluralaner for long-term control (up to 6 months) of FAD in affected client-owned dogs maintained under common household conditions in the Ile-de-France region. METHODS: This was an open pre-treatment versus post-treatment study. Client-owned dogs with clinical signs of FAD were recruited and treated with oral fluralaner (Bravecto®) at 25-56 mg/kg body weight on days 0 and 84. The dogs' condition was assessed at each visit (on days 0, 28, 84 and 168) using the following three parameters: (i) extent of skin lesions based on the scoring system for canine FAD; (ii) pruritus severity based on the pruritus visual analog scale; (iii) presence or absence of fleas or flea feces. RESULTS: Of the 26 dogs initially enrolled, 23 were presented on day 28, 20 on day 84 and 16 for the final evaluation on day 168. Eighteen out of 20 dogs (90 %) presented on day 84 and 15 out of 16 dogs (94 %) presented on day 168 showed a complete clinical resolution. The post-treatment FAD clinical scores on days 28, 84 and 168 were significantly different from that of the pre-treatment with a reduction of 89.8 %, 98.8 % and 99.8 %, respectively. The post-treatment pruritus index values on days 28, 84 and 168 were significantly different from that of the pre-treatment with a reduction of 45.2 %, 71.2 % and 80.8 %, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The present study confirmed that oral fluralaner treatment should be considered as effective for long-term control of clinical signs in FAD affected dogs.