Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25069770›Full record

Trial reportParasites & vectors2014

Field clinical study evaluating the efficacy and safety of an oral formulation containing milbemycin oxime/praziquantel (Milbemax®, Novartis Animal Health) in the chemoprevention of the zoonotic canine infection by Dirofilaria repens.

Angela Di Cesare, Gabriele Braun, Emanuela Di Giulio, Barbara Paoletti, Vincenzo Aquilino, Roberto Bartolini, Francesco La Torre, Silvana Meloni, Jason Drake, Federico Pandolfi and 2 more

Open access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Parasites & vectors, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
0.9field-weighted citation impact, top 27% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Genetic characterization of zoonoticMicrobiology spectrum · 2025
    Article
  3. The long-distance relationship betweenFrontiers in veterinary science · 2023
    Review
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors at 2 institutions in 3 countries.

Angela Di CesareFaculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Teramo, Piazza A, Moro, 45, 64100 Teramo, Italy. angdicesare@gmail.com.
Gabriele Braun
Emanuela Di Giulio
Barbara Paoletti
Vincenzo Aquilino
Roberto Bartolini
Francesco La Torre
Silvana Meloni
Jason Drake
Federico Pandolfi
Stefania Avolio
Donato Traversa
University of Teramo · ITNovant Health · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDirofilaria repens is the causative agent of subcutaneous dirofilariosis of dogs, other animals and humans. This nematode is transmitted by mosquitoes of Aedes, Anopheles and Culex genera. In dogs, the parasite may cause subclinical infection or cutaneous signs. Recently, D. repens has emerged and spread in different geographical areas, with an increase of cases in dogs and humans. Chemoprevention in dogs in endemic areas is the most reliable approach for controlling this infection. This paper describes a randomized, blocked and multicentric clinical field study investigating the efficacy of an oral, chewable formulation containing milbemycin oxime/praziquantel (Milbemax®, Novartis Animal Health) in the chemoprevention of subcutaneous dirofilariosis in dogs.

methodsThis study was conducted in endemic areas of Italy. A total of 249 dogs, at two sites, negative for D. repens, were allocated into two groups (i.e. Treated -T1 vs Untreated-T2) with a ratio of 1:1, and subjected to clinical visits and blood sampling once monthly until the end of the study. All blood samples were microscopically and genetically examined. Animals belonging to T1 group received a minimum target dose of 0.5 mg/kg bodyweight of milbemycin oxime and 5 mg/kg of praziquantel in commercial tablets (Milbemax®) according body weight once every 4 weeks. Animals of group T2 were not treated with Milbemax® but received, when necessary, specific parasiticide treatments. The study duration was 336 ± 2 days for each dog.

resultsA total of 219 dogs completed the study (i.e. 111 in T1 and 108 in T2), while 30 dogs (i.e. 13 in T1, 17 in T2) were withdrawn for a variety of reasons unrelated to administration of Milbemax®. The percentages of animals not showing microfilariae of D. repens were 100% (111 animals) in T1 and 94.7% (108 animals out of 114) in group T2. Milbemax® was shown to be safe in treated dogs.

conclusionsThe results of this study confirm that the monthly use of Milbemax® in dogs is effective and safe for the prevention of subcutaneous dirofilariosis in endemic areas.

Indexed as

Dirofilaria repensAdministration, OralAnimalsAnthelminticsDirofilariasisDog DiseasesDogsDrug CombinationsItalyMacrolidesPraziquantelZoonosesAnthelminticsDrug CombinationsMacrolidesmilbemycin oximePraziquantel

Identifiers

PMID25069770
PMCPMC4127188
OpenAlexW1994160714

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.