The association of antibiotics is often used in therapy in order to enhance the efficiency and also to minimize the development of bacterial résistance. The present study aimed to detect the effect of cefotaxime and gentamicin either individually or in combination in chickens. Forty clinically healthy chickens of native breed at 45 days-old with average body weight (BW) 750-1000 gm were used. The birds divided into four groups ten birds each, group A injected i.m with gentamicin (10 mg/Kg BW), group B injected subcutaneously with cefotaxime (50 mg/kg BW), group C injected with combination of both gentamicin and cefotaxime with the same mentioned doses and routs and group D kept as control. The birds are injected daily for 5 successive days and sacrificed one day post last injection. The liver functional parameters (AST, ALT and ALP) were significantly increased in all treated groups compared with the control one, while albumin and total protein in all groups were significantly decreased than control. Urea and creatinine concentrations were significantly increased in chicken injected with gentamicin than that of the control group. However, urea not significantly increased in the birds injected with cefotaxime. Interestingly, combination of both types of antibiotics improves liver, kidney and heart functions. There was significant increase in IgM and IgA levels in all treated groups compared with the control one. Various histopathological changes in liver, kidney and heart were observed in the birds injected with either gentamicin or cefotaxime, but the severity of these lesions were declined in chicken injected with both types of antibiotics. Additionally, the immune-modulatory response was kept elevated in birds injected with both cefotaxime and gentamicin. Accordingly, the combination of both drugs proved to be more effective than using each one separately. |
