Ketoconazole is best given with food, and foods that are higher in fat can help with gastrointestinal side effects. Ketoconazole Directionsįollow the directions on the drug label or as provided by your veterinarian. You can learn more about compounded medications here. They are created by either a veterinarian or a licensed pharmacist on an individual basis to best suit a patient’s particular needs. Compounded medications are not FDA-approved. Compounded medications are prescribed if there’s a specific reason your pet’s health can’t be managed by an FDA-approved drug, such as if your pet has trouble taking pills in capsule form, the dosage strength is not commercially available, or the pet is allergic to an ingredient in the FDA-approved medication. In certain circumstances, your vet may recommend a compounded formulation of ketoconazole. Ketoconazole is available for direct veterinary use in various topical products such as shampoos, wipes, sprays, ear cleaners, and ear medications. In doing so, it increases the amount of cyclosporine in the body, thereby reducing the dose of cyclosporine required to be effective. Ketoconazole can interfere with the metabolism of an immune-modulating medication called cyclosporine. Ketoconazole also works in the cells of mammals to mildly block the production of steroids such as cortisol in the body, which is why it has been used to treat canine Cushing’s disease. This inhibits the metabolism and growth of a given fungus. Ketoconazole works as an antifungal medication by blocking fungi ability to create an enzyme needed to fortify their cell membranes. This is called extra-label or off-label use because this use is not described on the drug label. However, it is readily utilized in the veterinary field, and veterinarians can legally prescribe certain human drugs in animals in certain circumstances. While Ketoconazole is FDA-approved for human use, it is currently not FDA-approved as a stand-alone veterinary medication. Ketoconazole has also been used to treat hyperadrenocorticism (Cushing’s disease) in dogs, but newer medications such as Vetoryl ® are more effective in treating the condition. Instead of ketoconazole, your veterinarian may also recommend one of those antifungals in other animals as well when systemic infections are present because they have less severe side effects. Ketoconazole is rarely used for body-wide (systemic) infections from organisms such as cryptococcus, valley fever (coccidioidomycosis), aspergillus, candidiasis, and blastomycosis because digestive side effects are common with this medication.Ĭats are more prone to severe side effects such as liver toxicity with ketoconazole, so other antifungal medications such as itraconazole or fluconazole are usually recommended first. Susceptible fungal or yeast infections of the skin, eyes, or ears are often treated by ketoconazole, typically as an active ingredient in topical (for the skin) products such as a shampoo, wipe, spray, or eye or ear ointment. ![]() ![]() ![]() Ketoconazole is a prescription medication used to treat certain fungal or yeast infections in animals including dogs, horses, birds, small mammals, reptiles, and rarely, cats. This content shouldn’t take the place of advice by your vet. PetMD’s medications content was written and reviewed by veterinary professionals to answer your most common questions about how medications function, their side effects, and what species they are prescribed for.
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