Zhang Yatong, Chen Mengrui, Jiang Tongtong, Fu Qianfang, Ma Rong, Nie Lianghui, You Yuqiong, Gao Shuqi, Rong Ping
Department of Pediatrics, First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China.
Department of Pediatrics, National Clinical Research Center for Chinese Medicine Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Tianjin, China.
Front Pharmacol. 2025 Aug 13;16:1544784. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1544784. eCollection 2025.
To synthesize and summarize the scope and protocols of drug tapering in existing animal studies, providing a reference for standardized tapering interventions in future research.
Utilizing a scoping review framework, a systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform (Wanfang), China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP), and China Biomedical Literature Service System (SinoMed) for studies on drug tapering in animal experiments published up to May 1, 2024. Key data such as disease type, drugs used, and tapering methods were extracted and analyzed.
Nineteen studies were included, addressing a range of diseases including respiratory issues, oncology, nephrology, neuropsychiatric disorders, fractures, organ transplantation, and perioperative pain. Only one study commenced tapering upon the emergence of drug toxicity, while the others did not explicitly state the timing of tapering. Tapering methods identified included reducing single drug doses, decreasing administration frequency, and intermittent dosing. The outcomes of tapering were classified into drug discontinuation, low-dose maintenance, and drug substitution, with all studies reporting the effects post-tapering.
The methods of drug tapering in animal studies are influenced by multiple factors, including disease characteristics, treatment duration, animal tolerance, and specific goals. There remains a need for further refinement in tapering schedules, methods, and milestones, and the establishment of relevant evaluation metrics to better define tapering timing.
综合并总结现有动物研究中药物减量的范围和方案，为未来研究中标准化的减量干预提供参考。
采用范围综述框架，在PubMed、Web of Science、中国知网（CNKI）、万方数据知识服务平台（万方）、维普中文科技期刊数据库（VIP）和中国生物医学文献服务系统（SinoMed）中系统检索截至2024年5月1日发表的关于动物实验中药物减量的研究。提取并分析疾病类型、所用药物和减量方法等关键数据。
纳入19项研究，涉及一系列疾病，包括呼吸系统问题、肿瘤学、肾脏病学、神经精神疾病、骨折、器官移植和围手术期疼痛。只有一项研究在出现药物毒性时开始减量，其他研究未明确说明减量时机。确定的减量方法包括减少单一药物剂量、降低给药频率和间歇给药。减量结果分为停药、低剂量维持和药物替代，所有研究均报告了减量后的效果。
动物研究中的药物减量方法受多种因素影响，包括疾病特征、治疗持续时间、动物耐受性和特定目标。在减量时间表、方法和节点方面仍需进一步完善，并建立相关评估指标以更好地确定减量时机。
