Effects of Butorphanol, Meloxicam and Their Combination on Postoperative Pain, Stress Response and Wound Healing in Dogs Following Ovariohysterectomy
Abstract
Pain, defined as an unpleasant sensory or emotional experience associated with actual or potential
tissue damage or described in terms of such damage, is associated with trauma, surgery and disease
processes. If pain is not well managed in surgical patients, it can cause stress and impair wound
healing in the affected patient. However, the interplay between pain, stress and wound healing in
dogs is yet to be elucidated hence the need for this study.
This was a two-phased study, where in phase one, a systematic review was carried out to evaluate
the type of analgesic drugs and protocols used to manage pain postoperatively in dogs following
ovariohysterectomy. Phase two was a randomized controlled clinical studyaimed at evaluating and
comparing the effects of butorphanol, meloxicam and their combination on postoperative pain,
stress response and wound healing in dogs after ovariohysterectomy.
In the systematic review, literature searches in Pub Med, Google Scholar and Science Direct were
conducted for peer reviewed articles written in English and published between 1995-2015. The
key search words were dogs, ovariohysterectomy, pain and analgesics. This was followed by a
manual search of the references within the primary data sources. Inclusion and exclusion of trials
into the studywas performed independently by two reviewers. All randomized trials evaluating
efficacy of analgesics after ovariohysterectomy in dogs were included. Data on the type of
analgesic drugs used, the technique of their administration and the need for rescue analgesia were
extracted from the papers.
Publisher
University of Nairobi