Efficacy and safety of the nucleoside analog GS-441524 for treatment of cats with naturally occurring feline infectious peritonitis

Pedersen, Niels C; Perron, Michel; Bannasch, Michael; Montgomery, Elizabeth; Murakami, Eisuke; Liepnieks, Molly; Liu, Hongwei

The clinical response of the 26 cats that completed at least 12 weeks of treatment was dramatic. Fever usually resolved within 12-36 h (Figure 2 ), concurrent with a marked daily improvement in appetite, activity levels and weight gain. Abdominal effusions rapidly disappeared over a 1-2 week period starting around 10-14 days post-treatment. Cats with thoracic effusions were usually dyspneic upon presentation to private veterinarians, prompting removal of pleural effusions prior to coming to UC Davis. Residual dyspnea and thoracic effusion responded rapidly to treatment and were no longer apparent after 7 days. Jaundice slowly resolved over 2-4 weeks, in parallel with decreasing hyperbilirubinemia. Signs of ocular disease began to clear within 24-48 h and were no longer apparent outwardly or by ophthalmoscopic examination by 7-14 days. Enlarged mesenteric and ileo/cecal/colic lymph nodes slowly decreased in size over the course of the treatment. All 26 cats appeared outwardly normal or near normal in the estimation of the owners after 2 weeks of treatment. The emphasis of treatment after 2 weeks was on monitoring several blood test parameters. Key values included packed cell volume (PCV), total white blood cells, absolute lymphocyte count, total serum protein, serum globulin, serum albumin and albumin:globulin (A:G) ratio.