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Lameness is a common health and welfare problem in sows. Little has been published about behavioral changes in lame sows. Ketoprofen is an effective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug used to treat non-infectious locomotor disorders in pigs. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of lameness and lameness-related pain on the behavior of sows. To evaluate this effect, we studied whether pain alleviation with ketoprofen and clinical relief of lameness were associated with changes in behavior. We allocated randomly 13 lame, early pregnancy sows in three treatment groups receiving either ketoprofen 4 mg/kg, ketoprofen 2 mg/kg (these two groups were pooled for statistical analyses) or placebo. The animals were treated orally for 5 days and lameness scored before and on the last day of the treatment. Lameness was assessed with a 5-grade scoring system and behavior by scan sampling method. A clinically healthy, non-lame control sow was paired with each lame sow and they were examined the same way as lame sows but received no treatment. Lame sows were more passive, they lay more and stood and explored pen fixtures less than the control sows before treatment. After 5-days treatment, placebo-treated sows were in contact with the wall and lying more often when compared to control sows. Ketoprofen-treated sows were more seldom in contact with the wall and exploring bedding more often than placebo-treated sows. Placebo sows tended also to move and explore bedding less than control sows. Lameness had been relieved in altogether 7 out of 13 sows on day 5: six out of nine ketoprofen-medicated sows and one out of four placebo-treated sows. The behaviour of sows with relieved lameness did not differ from that of control sows on day 5. Sows with non-relieved lameness were in contact with the wall and lying more and moving and standing less than control sows. When compared to control sows, sows with non-relieved lameness tended to be more passive. When compared to sows with relieved lameness, sows with non-relieved lameness showed a tendency to be in contact with the wall more often. Our study showed that lameness reduces the activity of sows and affects their position in the pen. Passive behavior seemed at least partly be due to pain and lameness relief was associated with normalization of the behavior.

Objective—To assess bioequivalence after oral, IM, and IV administration of racemic ketoprofen in pigs and to investigate the bioavailability after oral and IM administration. Animals—8 crossbred pigs. Procedures—Each pig received 4 treatments in a randomized crossover design, with a 6-day washout period. Ketoprofen was administered at 3 and 6 mg/kg, PO; 3 mg/kg, IM; and 3 mg/kg, IV. Plasma ketoprofen concentrations were measured by use of high-performance liquid chromatography for up to 48 hours. To assess bioequivalence, a 90% confidence interval was calculated for the area under the time-concentration curve (AUC) and maximum plasma concentration (Cmax). Results—Equivalence was not detected in the AUCs among the various routes of administration nor in Cmax between oral and IM administration of 3 mg/kg. The bioavailability of ketoprofen was almost complete after each oral or IM administration. Mean ± SD Cmax was 5.09 ± 1.41 μg/mL and 7.62 ± 1.22 μg/mL after oral and IM doses of 3 mg/kg, respectively. Mean elimination half-life varied from 3.52 ± 0.90 hours after oral administration of 3 mg/kg to 2.66 ± 0.50 hours after IV administration. Time to peak Cmax after administration of all treatments was approximately 1 hour. Increases in AUC and Cmax were proportional when the orally administered dose was increased from 3 to 6 mg/kg. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Orally administered ketoprofen was absorbed well in pigs, although bioequivalence with IM administration of ketoprofen was not detected. Orally administered ketoprofen may have potential for use in treating pigs.

In order to determine the effective dose, the effects of orally administered ketoprofen were evaluated in pigs following intravenous challenge with Escherichia coli endotoxin. One hour after the challenge, five groups of pigs were treated with either tap water or ketoprofen (0.5 mg/kg, 1 mg/kg, 2 mg/kg or 4 mg/kg). The body temperature was measured and a total clinical score was calculated after assessing the general behaviour, respiratory rate and locomotion of the pigs. Thromboxane B(2) and ketoprofen concentrations were analysed from blood samples. Ketoprofen treatment significantly reduced the rectal temperature and total clinical scores, and lowered blood thromboxane B(2) concentrations when compared with the control group. Ketoprofen plasma concentrations were lower than previously reported in healthy pigs after similar doses. The appropriate dose of orally administered ketoprofen in pigs in this model is 2 mg/kg, as the higher dose of 4 mg/kg failed to provide an additional benefit.

The efficacy of ketoprofen in the treatment of non-infectious lameness in sows was examined in a double-blinded study. Two dose rates of oral ketoprofen were compared to placebo treatment over five consecutive days. Lameness was assessed with a five-grade scoring system prior to and on the last day of the treatment. The rate of treatment success was 54.3% for the ketoprofen 4 mg/kg group ( n = 46), 53.2% for the ketoprofen 2 mg/kg group ( n = 47) and 20.8% for the pigs in the placebo group ( n = 48). The difference between both ketoprofen groups and the placebo group was significant ( P = 0.001), but there was no difference between the two ketoprofen groups ( P = 0.78). Oral ketoprofen was well tolerated and no adverse events were observed. As lameness is a very common problem in sows, oral ketoprofen appeared to be a practical way to alleviate pain and improve the welfare of sows.