Plumb’s Veterinary Drug Handbook helps pharmacists to safely provide meds for pets

Pharmacists with an interest in veterinary medicine will welcome a new edition of Plumb’s Veterinary Drug Handbook.

This reference book is designed to assist veterinarians, pharmacists and animal caretakers in providing optimal drug therapy for animals. It covers a wide variety of species, including dogs, cats, birds, small mammals and farm animals.^1.2

Drug monographs Now in its tenth edition, this compendium offers a series of referenced drug monographs, organized alphabetically by drug generic name. All 738 drug monographs in the ninth edition have been updated and 30 new monographs have been added, including nine new insulin monographs.²

Each drug monograph provides information on uses/indications, pharmacology/actions, pharmacokinetics, contraindications/precautions/warnings, adverse effects, reproductive/nursing safety, overdosage/acute toxicity, drug interactions, dosages (for various species), monitoring, client information, chemistry/synonyms and storage/stability. It also includes a list of dosage forms, specifying veterinary-labelled products (including approved species) and human-labelled products.²

The dosage section of each monograph may be of particular interest to pharmacists when checking prescriptions, since it includes US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved doses, as well as doses for off-label (extra-label) uses in various animal species. For example, the monograph for meloxicam includes extra-label analgesic/anti-inflammatory doses for ferrets, rabbits, birds, horses, cattle, swine, reptiles and others, in addition to the FDA-approved doses for cats and dogs.² 

Topically-administered drug classes The book includes information on drug classes that are administered topically (e.g., ophthalmic agents, topical antimicrobials), with information on individual drugs, as well as compounding information and other pertinent data.² 

Appendices The handbook contains some useful appendices, such as “normal” vital signs and reference laboratory ranges (e.g., hematology, urinalysis) for various species. A guide to veterinary prescriptions (described as “a whole different animal,” e.g., s.i.d. = once daily) and drug store toxins in small animal species may be particularly valuable to pharmacists.² 

Availability Plumb’s Veterinary Drug Handbook 10^th edition (ISBN: 978-1-394-17220-7) is written by pharmacist James A. Budde, PharmD, RPh, DICVP and veterinarian Dawn M. McCluskey, DVM, both based in Madison, Wisconsin. The book is available in a 1544-page, 8.5 x 11-inch hardcover format from Wiley for$134.95.

An online version of the reference is available by subscription at www.plumbs.com. It offers digital advancements, including drug monograph updates, medication guides and a veterinary-specific drug interaction checker.²  

“Plumb’s exhaustive coverage of drugs relevant to the veterinary field makes this book an essential reference for veterinarians, veterinary technicians, veterinary pharmacologists, pharmacists with veterinary patients, and libraries that serve these groups.”¹

References

1. Wiley. Plumb’s Veterinary Drug Handbook, 10th ed. Description. (accessed May 23, 2023).

2. Budde JA, McClusky DM. Plumb’s Veterinary Drug Handbook, 10th ed. Preface. Hoboken, NJ; Wiley-Blackwell: 2023.