Center for Observational and Real-World Evidence, Merck & Co., Inc, Kenilworth, NJ, USA.
Merck Animal Health, 2 Giralda Farms, Madison, NJ, USA.
Parasit Vectors. 2021 May 20;14(1):264. doi: 10.1186/s13071-021-04768-5.
The study objective was to examine cat owner ectoparasiticide purchases in the United States and estimate the impact of purchase gaps on timely ectoparasite protection administration. These purchase gaps lead to periods of time when cats are unprotected from ectoparasites.
Ectoparasiticide purchase transactions for individual cats from 671 U.S. veterinary clinics from January 1, 2017 through June 30, 2019 were evaluated to determine time "gaps" between doses of ectoparasiticides purchased in a defined 12-month period. Ectoparasiticides examined were topically applied products that contained fluralaner, fipronil/(S)-methoprene/pyriproxyfen, imidacloprid/pyriproxyfen or selamectin as active ingredients. The duration of protection following administration of one dose was 8-12 weeks for the fluralaner-containing product and one month for the other products.
Ectoparasiticide purchase records were obtained from 114,853 cat owners and analysis found that most owners bought ≤ 6 months of protection during the year, with 61-75% (depending on the product) purchasing just 1-3 months of protection. The size of the average purchase gap was determined for all dose combinations out to 12 months of protection (5-7 doses for fluralaner and 12 doses for the other three products dosed monthly. The largest gaps occurred between the first and second doses and the second and third doses. Average purchase gaps for the four different products between doses 1 and 2 ranged from 11.2 to 13.9 weeks and between doses 2 and 3 ranged from 7.7 to 12.2 weeks. The fraction of purchases separated by gaps and the average length of the gap tended to decrease with increasing number of doses purchased. Owners purchasing the 8 to 12-week duration product containing fluralaner provided ectoparasite protection ("doses plus gap period") for a larger proportion of each 2-dose period compared with owners purchasing products administered monthly.
When cat owners purchase flea and tick medication, gaps between subsequent purchases reduces the proportion of time ectoparasite protection can be provided. The duration of the gap between doses has an impact on the effectiveness of flea/tick medication because it inserts a period without flea and tick protection between doses of flea and tick medication. The gaps between purchases were shorter and the period of ectoparasite protection was larger for owners purchasing a 12-week product than for owners purchasing a monthly product.
本研究旨在考察美国猫主人购买体外驱虫药的情况，并估算购买间隔对及时进行体外寄生虫防护管理的影响。这些购买间隔会导致猫在一段时间内无法免受体外寄生虫的侵害。
评估了 2017 年 1 月 1 日至 2019 年 6 月 30 日期间来自美国 671 家兽医诊所的 114853 只猫的体外驱虫药购买交易记录，以确定在规定的 12 个月内购买的驱虫药剂量之间的时间“间隔”。研究中检查的体外驱虫药是含有氟虫腈、氟氯苯氰菊酯/（S）-烯丙菊酯/吡虫啉或塞拉菌素作为活性成分的局部应用产品。单次给药后的保护持续时间为含氟虫腈产品 8-12 周，其他产品为 1 个月。
从 114853 位猫主人那里获得了体外驱虫药购买记录，分析发现大多数主人在一年内购买的保护期不超过 6 个月，其中 61-75%（取决于产品）仅购买 1-3 个月的保护期。确定了所有剂量组合的平均购买间隔，最长可达 12 个月的保护期（氟虫腈为 5-7 剂，其他三种产品每月一剂为 12 剂）。最大的差距发生在第一剂和第二剂之间以及第二剂和第三剂之间。四种不同产品的第一剂和第二剂之间以及第二剂和第三剂之间的平均购买间隔分别为 11.2 至 13.9 周和 7.7 至 12.2 周。存在间隔的购买比例和平均间隔长度随着购买剂量的增加而趋于减少。购买氟虫腈 8-12 周有效期产品的主人在每 2 剂期间提供的体外寄生虫保护（“剂量加间隔期”）比例高于购买每月用药产品的主人。
当猫主人购买跳蚤和蜱虫药物时，随后购买药物之间的间隔会减少提供体外寄生虫保护的时间比例。剂量之间间隔的持续时间会影响跳蚤和蜱虫药物的效果，因为它会在跳蚤和蜱虫药物的剂量之间插入一个没有跳蚤和蜱虫保护的时间段。购买者购买 12 周产品的间隔时间更短，体外寄生虫保护时间也更长，而购买每月产品的间隔时间更短，体外寄生虫保护时间也更短。
