Haematological and Biochemical Changes in Response to Stress Induced by the Administration of Amikacin Injection by Autoinjector in Animals

The drugs administered by autoinjectors, may act fast reducing the morbidity and mortality in critical and emergency situations. Amikacin drug cartridge was developed for the autoinjector as an antibacterial drug for critical situations and its tolerability was studied. Rats were given either 3 doses or 7 doses on consecutive days by the autoinjector (intraperitoneal, 63 mg/mL). Blood was withdrawn on the 4th day (3 doses) or the 8th day (7 doses), and haematological and biochemical parameters were studied. All the parameters studied were within the limits and did not show any significant difference when compared with the control. Rabbits were given 3 doses of two concentrations (intramuscular, 63 or 250 mg/mL) and on the 4th day blood was withdrawn for the haematological and biochemical estimations. 63 mg/mL cartridge did not show any significant change while 250 mg/mL cartridge showed significant change in the haematological and biochemical parameters. This study showed that intraperitoneal injection of amikacin by the autoinjector designed for intramuscular injection was well tolerated by the rats. In the rabbits, low dose (63 mg/mL) was tolerated while the higher dose, which is an adult human dose (250 mg/mL) showed significant changes.Defence Science Journal, 2014, 64(2), pp. 99-105. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.64.503