The
antiemetic maropitant, with
metacresol as preservative (Cerenia, Zoetis), has been associated with
pain after
subcutaneous injection in dogs and cats. Recently, a generic formulation containing
benzyl alcohol was authorised (Prevomax, Le Vet).
Benzyl alcohol is reported to have local anaesthetic properties and reduce injection
pain. This study compared local
pain after
subcutaneous injection of the two
maropitant formulations, administered at approximately 4°C and 25°C, to dogs. Thirty-two healthy beagle dogs were enrolled into a blinded, randomised, cross-over study. Dogs received
subcutaneous injections of
maropitant injection containing
metacresol as preservative and
maropitant injection containing
benzyl alcohol as preservative, both at approximately 4°C and 25°C, with at least three days in between treatments. Injection
pain was evaluated by two blinded observers using a visual analogue scale immediately after injection and a simple descriptive scale at two minutes after injection. In healthy beagle dogs,
subcutaneous injection of
maropitant with
benzyl alcohol is significantly less painful than injection of
maropitant with
metacresol.