Investigation of side effects to treatment and cause of death in 63 Scandinavian dogs suffering from meningoencephalitis of unknown origin: a retrospective study

Table 3 Overview of treatment regimens

Treatment Group	Dogs (n)	Median initial dose	Mean initial dose	Range
CS	26
Dexamethasone	20	0.5 mg/kg/day	0.5 mg/kg/day	0.2–1.15 mg/kg/day
Prednisolone	26	2.2 mg/kg/day	2.4 mg/kg/day	1.73-4 mg/kg/day
CS + Ci	15
Dexamethasone	13	0.5 mg/kg/day	0.54 mg/kg/day	0.4–0.98 mg/kg/day
Prednisolone	15	2.5 mg/kg/day	2.63 mg/kg/day	2–4 mg/kg/day
Ciclosporin	15	6 mg/kg/day	6.4 mg/kg/day	5.43-12 mg/kg/day
CS + CA	5
Dexamethasone	4	0.44 mg/kg/day	0.47 mg/kg/day	0.4–0.6 mg/kg/day
Prednisolone	5	1.9 mg/kg/day	2.11 mg/kg/day	1.73-3 mg/kg/day
Cytosine arabinoside	5	200 mg/m²	175 mg/m²	100–200 mg/m²
CS + 2	5
Dexamethasone	4	0.5 mg/kg/day	0.625 mg/kg/day	0.5-1 mg/kg/day
Prednisolone	5	2 mg/kg/day	2.0 mg/kg/day	1.78–2.3 mg/kg/day
Ciclosporin	2	6 mg/kg/day	6 mg/kg/day	6 mg/kg/day
Cytosine arabinoside	3	100 mg/m²	133 mg/m²	100–200 mg/m²
Leflunomide	1	2 mg/kg	2 mg/kg	2 mg/kg
Lomustine	1	30 mg/m²	30 mg/m²	30 mg/m²
CS + Le	3
Dexamethasone	1	0.5 mg/kg/day	0.5 mg/kg/day	0.5 mg/kg/day
Prednisolone	3	2.29 mg/kg/day	2 mg/kg/day	2–4 mg/kg/day
Leflunomide	3	1.04 mg/kg/day	1.04 mg/kg/day	0.58–1.5 mg/kg/day

Overview of different treatment regimens and distribution of included dogs surviving > 72 h from time of diagnosis (n = 54) to different treatment groups. CA = cytosine arabinoside, Ci = ciclosporin, CS = corticosteroids, Le = leflunomide, + 2 = more than 2 add-on drugs. Treatment with cytosine arabinoside was given initially as IV-infusion, followed by subcutaneous injections every 12 h for 48 h every 3–4 weeks. Dogs receiving dexamethasone received it before starting oral treatment with prednisolone.

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