Toxicity of Flunixin Meglumine in Broiler Chickens

This study was designed to evaluate the toxicity of flunixin meglumine, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug which might serve as an alternate of diclofenac that has been shown to cause toxicity in vultures. Twenty five broiler chickens of five weeks of age were randomly divided into five equal groups and treated with flunixin meglumine at the dosage rate of 0, 1.25, 2.5, 5 and 10 mg/kg body weight for four consecutive days, intramuscularly. Clinical signs, mortality, gross and microscopic lesions in visceral organs were recorded and serum concentrations of uric acid, creatinine, AST, ALT and ALP were measured. The affected birds exhibited the signs of toxicity as anorexia, depression, lethargy and coma. Mortality rates in 2.5, 5 and 10 mg/kg groups were 20, 40 and 60%, respectively. Gross lesions included visceral gout characterized by multifocal to locally extensive urate precipitates on almost all the visceral organs, skeletal muscles and sub cutis. Microscopic lesions showed multifocal urate tophi frequently surrounded by inflammatory cells. A strong correlation in the toxicity of the drug and elevation of the serum uric acid and creatinine concentrations was observed in the affected birds. We propose that flunixin meglumine causes similar toxicity in birds as diclofenac does.