What exactly is Felycin-CA1, and how does it work?
On this week's episode of The Vet Blast Podcast presented by dvm360, our host, Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, welcomes Derek Matthews, DVM, DACVIM (Cardiology), to the show to educate our listeners more on feline cardiology and sirolimus delayed-release tablets (felycin-CA1).
Throughout the episode, Christman and Matthews take a closer look at the medicine, who it should and should not be prescribed to, what to look out for, and previous research, including the results of the RAPACAT trial, which were published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.
Below is a partial transcript, edited lightly for clarity.
Adam Christman, DVM, MBA: I just love how medicine evolves, because you're right, we did not learn those pathways in veterinary school.... Are there any contraindications [for] any cats?
Derek Matthews, DVM, DACVIM (Cardiology): That's a really good question.... It does not work for cats with diabetes [or for] cats with preexisting liver disease or [that] are on other drugs that induce cytochrome P450. So, that's a lot of drugs—antifungals, β-blockers, calcium channel blockers, cisapride, macrolide antibiotics, metoclopramide, phenobarbital, pimobendan, or any diuretics. The label also says that [for] cats with MDR1 gene mutations, it should be used with caution. It hasn't been evaluated at all in cats with viral diseases or chronic steroid use.
The other thing, just as a practicing clinician, [is that] blood work needs to be monitored closely before you start them on it...and 1 to 2 months after starting it to look for evidence of [them] becoming at risk for diabetes or develop[ing] [alanine aminotransferase] or [aspartate aminotransferase] liver enzyme changes—that kind of a thing.
And cats [with] heart failure or with severe obstructions inside their heart...it's not clear that those cats should be on this medication.
Christman: Got it; [that's] interesting. [I] love it.