Morphine injected in the belly to ease dog pain after spay surgery

Abstract

The present prospective randomized experimental study was designed to assess pain control with intraperitoneal morphine following ovariohysterectomy in dogs. A group of 12 mixed breed female dogs, aged 1-2 years, weighing 19.95 ± 0.95 kg were included. Forty minutes after sedation with 0.05 mg/kg intramuscular acepromazine 1%, anaesthesia was induced with propofol (4 mg/kg). The dogs were connected to the inhalation anaesthesia circuit using isoflurane. Ovariohysterectomy was performed, and before the closure of linea alba, the animals received intraperitoneal morphine (0.5 mg/kg) (in group M) and saline (0.2 ml/kg) (in group S). No significant difference was detected in total protein and glucose levels between the groups, while the cortisol level in group M was significantly lower than group S 1, 3 and 6 h after surgery. Furthermore, the comparison of the rectal temperature, heart rates and respiratory rates showed no major differences. Additionally, no significant alterations were detected between the groups considering the changes in the pain scores with simple descriptive score, Glasgow, University of Melbourne pain scale, sedation status and Sammarco methods. Finally, three cases in group S and two cases in group M were given an intramuscular analgesic rescue dose of morphine. Although a significant decline was observed in cortisol levels following intraperitoneal morphine administration, there were no beneficial changes in the efficiency of post-operative analgesia in status and clinical signs compared to the control group. Further studies are required to investigate intraperitoneal morphine effectiveness in post-operative pain management.