Saddle Thrombus / Aortic Thromboembolism Clinical Trial

[ben brainard]

Greetings; I wanted to forward to the forum some information on a study that is sponsored by Morris Animal Foundation, and which aims to study the efficacy of two different medications for preventing recurrent blood clots in cats who have experienced a saddle thrombus ("feline aortic thromboembolism"). The study is called “SUPER-CAT,” which stands for "Study of the Utility of Rivaroxaban or Clopidogrel for prevention of recurrent Arterial Thromboembolism in cats."

Cats can be enrolled in the trial once they are home from the hospital and in stable condition. The thromboembolism may have occurred at any anatomic location, and cats will be recruited up to 30 days following their discharge from the hospital.

Cats that are enrolled in the study will receive a free 2 year supply of either clopidogrel or rivaroxaban, in a blinded fashion. The study will also provide some monetary compensation ($600) to support four recheck echocardiographic exams over 2 years. There is a 24 hour hotline for owners once a cat has been enrolled in the study to answer any questions about the medication. Owners will be asked to fill out a short online survey on their cat’s activity level every 2 months.

There is a FAQ on the study for both owners and veterinarians and additional information on the study website at CVCCR.com.

If you think that you may have a cat who qualifies for the study, or if you have additional questions, please feel free to email me at [email protected]. I am also happy to speak with veterinarians about cases. Although I am based at the University of Georgia, we can enroll any cat in the United States as long as they have been examined by a board-certified veterinary cardiologist.

Thank you!


…ben


Benjamin Brainard VMD, Dipl ACVAA, ACVECC

SUPER-CAT Study

College of Veterinary Medicine

University of Georgia

 

[Anne]

Welcome to TheCatSite, Dr. Ben! We're always thrilled to hear about solid studies done to promote better health care for cats. Thanks for offering us a chance to contribute towards that.

I'll be featuring this thread and promoting it via our social media channels as well.

 

[di and bob]

Yes, thank you so much! One more step forward in helping with this dreaded condition. Understanding is a step towards curing.

 

[catlover73]

Thank you for taking the time to reach out to us here Dr. Ben. I lost two senior boys to this condition many years ago. This was back in 2010 and 2011 and it seemed like very little was known about this condition back then. I was advised to put my babies to sleep because their quality of life would never be the same. Both my boys were barely able to walk, could not/did not want to eat. (I tried syringe feeding) and unable to control their bathroom habits. I made the difficult decision to say goodbye because I was not willing to let my babies suffer. It really seems like so much more is known now. I have even read some success stories on this site where cats have recovered. All my vet could offer me at the time was a bunch of what if's that could be tried but I was told there was a slim chance things would change. I love my boys to much to make them suffer more through things that had such a slim chance of working. Your post gives me hope that someone else will not have to go through what I went through.

 

[hawaiian]

The trial, although helpful to some is what is sounds like. You do not know what you are getting. You will either get clopidogrel or rivaroxaban. My vet cardiologist suggested both - 18.75mg clopidogrel and 2.5mg rivaroxaban. The clopidogrel can be gotten at Costco for about $11 for 3 month's supply and the rivaroxaban can be gotten at onlinecanadapharmacies for a lot less than US pharmacies. I am having mine compounded by a local pharmacy. I puchased the 20mg tabs which came out to be just a little higher than the clopidogrel.