A review of the pharmacology, pharmacokinetics and behavioral effects of procaine in thoroughbred horses.

Since procaine has both local anaesthetic and central stimulant actions its presence in the blood or urine of racing horses is forbidden. After rapid intravenous injection of procaine HC1 (2.5 mg/Kg) in thoroughbred mares plasma levels of this drug fell rapidly (t 1/2 alpha = 5 min) and then more slowly (t 1/2 beta = 50.2 min). These kinetics were well fitted by a two compartment open model (Model I). This model gave an apparent Vdbeta for procaine in the horse of about 3,500 litres. Since procaine was about 45% bound to equine plasma protein this gives a true Vdbeta for procaine of about 6,500 litres. After subcutaneous injection of procaine HC1 (3.3 mg/Kg) plasma levels peaked at about 400 ng/ml and then declined with a half-life of about 75 minutes. These data were well fitted by Model I when this was modified to include simple first order absorption (K = 0.048 min-1) from the subcutaneous injection site (Model II). After intramuscular injection of procaine penicillin (33,000 I.U./Kg) plasma levels reached a peak at about 270 ng/ml and then declined with a half-life of about 9 hours. These data were approximately fitted by Model II assuming a first order rate constant for absorption of procaine of 0.0024 min-1. After intramuscular injection of procaine HC1 (10 mg/Kg) plasma levels of procaine peaked rapidly at about 600 ng/ml but thereafter declined slowly (+ 1/2 = 2 hours). A satisfactory pharmaco-kinetic model for this intramuscular data could not be developed. An approximation of these data was obtained by assuming the existence of two intramuscular drug compartments, one containing readily absorbable drug and the other poorly absorbable drug (Model III). After intra-articular administration of procaine (0.33 mg/Kg) plasma levels of this drug reached a peak at about 17 ng/ml and then declined with a half-life of about 2 hours. These data were not modelled.