This edition has been greatly expanded from the 1st edition; over 130 new drugs have been added, and there is more material pertinent to horses and food animals, including regulatory requirements. The material is based on drug availability in the United States, so Canadian-specific products or product labeling are not included. The drug information in the book is organized alphabetically according to generic name, so the initial list of drugs according to functional and therapeutic classification is useful to evaluate similar drug choices. The next list is a cross-referencing of generic names with brand names, similar to that found in a Compendium of Veterinary Products (CVP), but useful for human labeled drug products that are not included in a CVP.
The layout of each drug monograph is concise and easy to read, and precautionary information is highlighted for emphasis. Excellent information on human drugs used in small animals, especially the chemotherapeutics is provided. This edition includes 17 appendices, most of which are very useful (e.g., Appendix A: Calculation of Dosages). Canadian information is included in Appendix B: Controlled Substance Charts. Appendices C and D are similar, and include lists of empirical antimicrobial therapy for common infections. Although it is not indicated, the choices are obviously for small animal bacterial infections. The prescription writing tips in Appendix K are excellent. The solution compatibility chart in Appendix Q is a very useful addition, as is the syringe compatibility table on the inside back cover.
The overall emphasis of this handbook is still on small animal drugs. There are some obvious omissions/errors in the monograph information for large animals. For example, no dose recommendation is given for acepromazine in horses (for which it is labeled) or for acetazolamide (which is an extralabel use of a human drug but well known as a therapy for horses with Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis). The suggested equine dosages of butorphanol for pain are 2–4 times the label dose. If given at these doses, most horses would show marked ataxia and dysphoria. Because of these adverse effects and the expense, butorphanol is rarely administered alone to horses. The addition of xylazine permits the use of much lower butorphanol dosages (0.01–0.04 mg/kg) with excellent analgesia and sedation while avoiding the adverse effects. The use of cyproheptadine for the treatment of “head shaking” in horses is not included. Under regulatory information, for drugs used in horses there is a statement regarding the RCI classification number but no direction to look in Appendix N for an explanation of this classification system. Furthermore, there is no real explanation of the use of the RCI classification system, which is only suggested for race-horses and not applicable to other performance horses. For food animals, the precaution to contact the Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank (FARAD) for extra label withdrawal information is inconsistently applied. Other withdrawal information is also inconsistent. For cephalexin, it says “Withdrawal times are not established for animals that produce animals.” There is no dosage given for ampicillin in swine, but a Canadian withdrawal time is given without specifying the formulation. Ampicillin plus sulbactam is only available as a human intravenous product in the US, but dosages and withdrawal interval recommendations are based on the Canadian ampicillin trihydrate/sulbactam formulation, which is no longer commercially available, and would have a very different disposition than the human product. The extralabel withdrawal recommendation for aspirin doesn’t make sense as written.
Overall, this handbook is an excellent reference for veterinary drugs and human drugs used in small animals. The information for large animal drug uses is less complete and in many instances less accurate. The companion CD with customizable client handouts is an excellent addition to the book and would be very useful to practitioners.