Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Current British veterinary attitudes to perioperative analgesia for dogs.
- Journal:
- The Veterinary record
- Year:
- 1999
- Authors:
- Capner, C A et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Clinical Veterinary Science · United Kingdom
Plain-English summary
In a study from March 1996, researchers sent a survey to 2,000 veterinarians who mainly work with small animals to understand their views on pain management during and after surgery in dogs. The vets agreed that pain is a normal part of surgery, but they had different opinions on how to manage it. Some believed that allowing some pain after surgery could help prevent pets from moving around too much. Generally, female veterinarians and those who graduated more recently were more likely to recognize the pain and treat it with pain relief medications. While many vets considered using strong painkillers or anti-inflammatory drugs before surgery, not many used a mix of different types of pain relief before or after operations.
Abstract
In March 1996, a questionnaire was sent to 2000 veterinary surgeons, primarily involved in small animal practice, to assess their attitudes to perioperative analgesic therapy in dogs, cats and other small mammals. This paper is concerned only with the data relating to dogs. The veterinary surgeons considered that pain was a consequence of all the surgical procedures specified, but there were differences in their treatment of pain. Some veterinarians considered that a degree of pain was necessary postoperatively to prevent excessive activity. In general, women and more recent graduates assigned higher pain scores to the procedures and were more likely to treat the pain with analgesics. A significant number of veterinarians consider the use of opiates or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs before surgical procedures, but relatively few appear to use combinations of different classes of analgesics either before or after operations.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10461733/