Does lorazepam work in cats with urinary obstruction with Dr. Jody Lulich

This podcast episode featured Dr. Jolle interviewing Dr. Jody Lulich about their recent study published in JAVMA titled "Lorazepam Reduces Recurrence of Urethral Obstruction in Male Cats." Dr. Lulich, who is head of the Minnesota Urolith Center that analyzes approximately 100,000 stone submissions annually, discussed their groundbreaking prospective randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study involving 80 cats. The study found that cats treated with lorazepam (a skeletal muscle relaxant) and a therapeutic urinary diet had zero re-obstructions compared to 14-15% recurrence rate in the placebo group, demonstrating the effectiveness of a multimodal approach including diet modification, pain medication, and environmental enrichment. Dr. Lulich explained that surgical removal of urinary stones actually leaves stones in about 20% of cases, making medical dissolution a more compassionate and effective treatment option. The discussion also covered the historical shift away from surgical intervention for struvite stones, the limitations of previous smooth muscle relaxant drugs like prazosin, and the significant cultural challenge of changing veterinary practices despite clear evidence supporting non-surgical approaches.

Article: https://avmajournals.avma.org/view/journals/javma/264/9/javma.26.01.0045.xml


The Veterinary Surgery Podcast is a first of its kind podcast that focuses on surgical advance in veterinary medicine with host Dr. Jolle Kirpensteijn. Jolle is a diplomate of the American and European Colleges of Veterinary Surgery and has lots of experience in veterinary surgery. Jolle will interview fellow surgeons, review articles that are recently published and will discuss 2 books he will be working on in the near future. You can also follow Jolle on his Global Veterinary Surgery Facebook or Instagram pages.