Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Testing pain sensitivity in healthy dogs using a new sensory exam
By Sanchis-Mora, Sandra et al.·Published in Veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia·2017·Royal Veterinary College, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Development and initial validation of a sensory threshold examination protocol (STEP) for phenotyping canine pain syndromes.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 25 healthy dogs underwent a new sensory threshold examination to measure their pain sensitivity in different body areas. The tests looked at how sensitive the dogs were to touch, heat, and cold, and the results showed that smaller dogs and younger dogs had different pain thresholds compared to larger or older dogs. The examination was well-tolerated and showed consistent results, but more research is needed to see how it works in dogs that are actually in pain. This could help veterinarians better understand and treat pain in dogs.
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To study the feasibility and test-retest repeatability of a sensory threshold examination protocol (STEP) and report the quantitative sensory threshold distributions in healthy dogs. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective, observational, cohort study. ANIMALS: Twenty-five healthy client-owned dogs. METHODS: Tactile sensitivity test (TST) (von Frey filaments), mechanical thresholds (MT with 2, 4 and 8 mm probes), heat thresholds (HT) and responsiveness to cold stimulus (CT at 0 °C) were quantitatively assessed for five body areas (BAs; tibias, humeri, neck, thoracolumbar region and abdomen) in a randomized order on three different occasions. Linear mixed model and generalized linear mixed models were used to evaluate the effects of body weight category, age, sex, BA, occasion, feasibility score and investigator experience. Test-retest repeatability was evaluated with the intra-class correlation coefficient. RESULTS: The STEP lasted 90 minutes without side effects. The BA affected most tests (p ≤ 0.001). Higher thresholds and longer cold latencies were scored in the neck (p ≤ 0.024) compared to other BAs. Weight category affected all thresholds (p ≤ 0.037). Small dogs had lower MT (∼1.4 N mean difference) and HT (1.1 °C mean difference) than other dogs (p ≤ 0.029). Young dogs had higher HT than adults (2.2 °C mean difference) (p = 0.035). Gender also affected TST, MT and HT (p < 0.05) (females versus males: TST odds ratio = 0.5, MT = 1.3 N mean difference, HT = 2.2 °C mean difference). Repeatability was substantial to moderate for all tests, but poor for TST. There was no difference in thresholds between occasions, except for CT. Test-retest repeatability was slightly better with the 2 mm MT probe compared to other diameters and improved with operator experience. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The STEP was feasible, was well tolerated and showed substantial test-retest repeatability in healthy dogs. Further validation is needed in dogs suffering pain.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28596056/