Safety and Efficacy of Leflunomide in Dogs | VETgirl Veterinary Continuing Education Podcasts

In today's VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we review the safety and efficacy of leflunomide in dogs. It seems as if leflunomide is a medication that some clinicians use quite routinely, whereas others have limited or even no experience using. Regardless of which category you fall into, don't fret! Today we will review some basic information about this medication, as well as a recent retrospective study evaluating its use. Leflunomide is an immunosuppressive medication that is used to treat a variety of immune-mediated conditions in dogs, including but not limited to immune-mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA), immune-mediated polyarthritis (IMPA), immune-mediated conditions of the central nervous system (CNS), and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). It works by inhibiting the synthesis of pyrimidine and thereby inhibiting lymphocyte proliferation (Plumb). Past studies have evaluated this medication at starting doses of 3-4 mg/kg/day, which showed positive response rates at this dosing (Gregory, Colopy, Fukushima).