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After 25 years of studies on methodologies for behavioral assessment of equine pain, the Unesp-Botucatu Horse Acute Pain Scale (UHAPS) and the Orthopedic Composite Pain Scale (CPS) were recently considered suboptimal instruments to assess pain in hospitalized horses. However, the combination of the two instruments has never been examined. The objective was to investigate whether the merging, mining, and weighting of UHAPS and CPS behavioral items in a single instrument using a predictive model could improve the capacity to diagnose pain in horses. A previously video-collected behavioral database of 42 horses admitted to three different hospitals for orthopedic or soft tissue surgery was used. Multilevel binomial logistic regression models were used to merge, mine, and weight the behaviors of both instruments. The classification quality between the model and the instruments was compared by the area under the curve (AUC) and its 95% confidence interval. The short model containing 25% of the behaviors of the two instruments showed a higher AUC (98.64 [98.16 – 99.12]; p < 0.0001) than the UHAPS (84.63 [82.08 – 87.18]) and CPS (88.62 [86.56 – 90.66]), independently. We conclude that merging, mining, and weighting the UHAPS and CPS behavior items into a single predictive model appears to be a promising strategy to improve pain diagnostic skill and promote equine welfare.

Proper pain therapy requires adequate pain assessment. This study evaluated the reliability and validity of the Unesp-Botucatu horse acute pain scale (UHAPS), the Orthopedic Composite Pain Scale (CPS) and unidimensional scales in horses admitted for orthopedic and soft tissue surgery. Forty-two horses were assessed and videotaped before surgery, up to 4 hours postoperatively, up to 3 hours after analgesic treatment, and 24 hours postoperatively (168 video clips). After six evaluators viewing each edited video clip twice in random order at a 20-day interval, they chose whether analgesia would be indicated and applied the Simple Descriptive, Numeric and Visual Analog scales, CPS, and UHAPS. For all evaluators, intraobserver reliability of UHAPS and CPS ranged from 0.70 to 0.97. Reproducibility was variable among the evaluators and ranged from poor to very good for all scales. Principal component analysis showed a weak association among 50% and 62% of the UHAPS and CPS items, respectively. Criterion validity based on Spearman correlation among all scales was above 0.67. Internal consistency was minimally acceptable (0.51-0.64). Item-total correlation was acceptable (0.3-0.7) for 50% and 38% of UHAPS and CPS items, respectively. UHAPS and CPS were specific (90% and 79% respectively), but both were not sensitive (43 and 38%, respectively). Construct validity (responsiveness) was confirmed for all scales because pain scores increased after surgery. The cut-off point for rescue analgesia was ≥ 5 and ≥ 7 for the UHAPS and CPS, respectively. All scales presented adequate repeatability, criterion validity, and partial responsiveness. Both composite scales showed poor association among items, minimally acceptable internal consistency, and weak sensitivity, indicating that they are suboptimal instruments for assessing postoperative pain. Both composite scales require further refinement with the exclusion of redundant or needless items and reduction of their maximum score app

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of intratesticular local anesthesia on weight gain and behavioral and cortisol changes in piglets submitted to castration. Study design was a randomized controlled trial. Twenty-nine male Landrace crossbred piglets aged 3 to 6 days were used. The piglets were randomly divided into two groups: orchiectomy with anesthesia (A, n = 15) and orchiectomy without anesthesia (NOA, n = 14). Piglets in the A and NOA groups were treated with 0.5 mL of intratesticular 2% lidocaine with a vasoconstrictor in each testicle and 0.5 mL of intratesticular 0.9% sodium chloride, respectively. Blood samples were collected from all animals immediately after surgery and at 3 and 6 days postoperatively for measurement of the serum cortisol concentration. Behavior was assessed daily for 6 days by two observers blinded to the treatment. Weight was measured at the same time as cortisol measurement. Analysis of variance followed by the Student-Newman-Keuls test was used to investigate differences in time within and between the two groups. Mean times of six evaluations done for 90 minutes during 6 days of each behavior were compared by Tukey t test. The level of statistical significance was 5%. The serum cortisol concentration was higher immediately after surgery than at 3 and 6 days postoperatively in both groups. Weight gain was greater at 3 and 6 days postoperatively in the A group than in the NOA group. Intratesticular local anesthesia before castration in piglets is technically practical, is in accordance with good welfare practice, and improves short-term weight gain in piglets submitted to castration., O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar o efeito da anestesia local intratesticular prévia à castração sobre o ganho de peso, comportamento e alterações no cortisol de leitões. O delineamento experimental adotado foi inteiramente casualisado. Foram utilizados vinte e nove leitões mestiços Landrace – Large White do sexo masculino com idade de 3 a 6 dias. Os leitões foram divididos aleatoriamente em dois grupos: orquiectomia com anestesia (A, n = 15) e orquiectomia sem anestesia (NOA, n = 14). Aos leitões do grupo A foi administrado 0,5 mL de lidocaína 2% intratesticular com vasoconstritor em cada testículo, e no grupo NOA administrou-se 0,5 mL de NaCl 0,9% intra testicular também em cada testículo. Amostras de sangue foram coletadas de todos os animais imediatamente após a cirurgia e posteriormente aos 3 e 6 dias após a cirurgia para a medição da concentração de cortisol sérico. O comportamento foi avaliado diariamente durante 6 dias por dois observadores que desconheciam o tratamento. O peso foi medido ao mesmo tempo que o cortisol sanguíneo. Foi realizada a análise de variância, e o teste Student-Newman- Keuls para contraste entre médias. O tempo médio de seis avaliações realizadas por 90 minutos durante 6 dias para cada comportamento foi comparado pelo teste de Tukey. O nível de significância estatística foi de 5%. A concentração de cortisol sérico foi maior imediatamente após a cirurgia do que após 3 e 6 dias de pós-operatório em ambos os grupos. O ganho de peso foi superior aos 3 e 6 dias após a cirurgia no grupo A em relação ao grupo NOA. A anestesia local intratesticular antes da orquiectomia em leitões é prática, auxilia na manutenção das boas práticas de bem-estar animal, e melhora o ganho de peso a curto prazo em leitões submetidos à castração.

Vieira F.A.F., Luna S.P.L. & Cassu R.N. [Propofol or propofol/ketamine for continuous intravenous anaesthesia in dogs]. Propofol ou propofol/cetamina na anestesia por infusão contínua intravenosa em cães. Revista Brasileira de Medicina Veterinária, 35(2):197-204, 2013. Departamento de Cirurgia e Anestesiologia Veterinária, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Campus de Botucatu, Distrito de Rubião Junior, s/n, Botucatu, SP 18618-000, Brasil. E-mail: renavarro@uol.com.br This study aimed to investigate the cardiopulmonary and analgesic effects of the continuous intravenous anaesthesia in dogs premedicated with methotrimeprazine, distributed in four groups. The anaesthesia was induced and maintained with propofol IV in groups G1 (n=6) and G1-OSH (n=8), and propofol/ketamine in groups G2 (n=6) and G2-OSH (n=8). In G1 and G2, the dogs were maintained anaesthetised during 60 minutes, while in G1-OSH and G2-OSH the dogs undergoing elective ovariohystectomy. IPPV was used immediately after induction of anaesthesia in all dogs. Electrocardiography, heart and respiratory rates, tidal and minute volume, blood pressure, rectal temperature, oximetry, capnography, arterial blood gases, plasma propofol concentration, analgesia degree, time and quality of anaesthetic recovery were evaluated. Hypothension were observed during anaesthesia. Quality of recovery was similar in all groups, but the recovery time was later in G1-OSH and G2-OSH, with dose-dependent effect. The results suggested that ketamine reduced the propofol infusion rate, however it did not modify cardiovascular depression. The infusion rates of propofol necessary to produce surgical anaesthesia were very high, leading to prolonged recovery times., Objetivou-se avaliar o efeito cardiorrespiratório e analgésico da anestesia por infusão contí- nua em cães pré-medicados com levomepromazina, distribuídos em 04 grupos. A indução e manutenção anestésicas foram realizadas por via intravenosa com propofol nos grupos G1 (n=6) e G1-OSH (n=8), e propofol/cetamina nos grupos G2 (n=6) e G2-OSH (n=8). Os animais do G1 e G2 foram mantidos anestesiados durante 60 minutos, enquanto os animais do G1-OSH e G2-OSH foram submetidos à ovariosalpingohisterectomia (OSH). Os animais foram mantidos em ventilação controlada, após a indução anestésica. Avaliaram-se eletrocardiografia, frequência cardíaca e respiratória, pressão arterial, temperatura retal, oximetria, capnografia, volume corrente e minuto, pH, bicarbonato e gases sanguí- neos no sangue arterial, concentração plasmática de propofol, grau de analgesia, tempo e qualidade de recuperação anestésica. Em todos os grupos houve hipotensão dose-dependente. A qualidade de recuperação foi semelhante entre os grupos, com tempo mais prolongado de recuperação nos grupos G1-OSH e G2-OSH, sendo proporcional ao total de propofol infundido. Conclui-se a adição da cetamina diminui a taxa de infusão do propofol, porém o efeito depressor cardiovascular desse fármaco não é minimizado. A obtenção de anestesia cirúrgica satisfatória requer altas taxas de infusão de propofol, culminando recuperação prolongada.