Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Pain relief in cats after spay: oral vs injection tramadol
By Bauquier, Sébastien H·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2022·Melbourne Veterinary School, Australia·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Randomised clinical trial comparing the perioperative analgesic efficacy of oral tramadol and intramuscular tramadol in cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 24 young female cats undergoing spay surgery (ovariohysterectomy) were given either oral tramadol or intramuscular tramadol to see which provided better pain relief. The cats that received oral tramadol showed good pain control for about six hours after surgery, while those that received the injection had slightly higher pain scores afterward and needed rescue pain relief less frequently. Overall, oral tramadol was effective in managing pain after the procedure, making it a viable option for post-surgery care in cats.
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Abstract
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the analgesic efficacy of oral tramadol in cats undergoing ovariohysterectomy. METHODS: Twenty-four female domestic cats, American Society of Anesthesiologists class I, aged 4-24 months, were included in this positive controlled, randomised, blinded clinical trial. Cats admitted for ovariohysterectomy were allocated to group oral tramadol (GOT, n = 12) or group intramuscular tramadol (GIMT, n = 12). In GOT, tramadol (6 mg/kg) was given orally 60 mins, and saline was given intramuscularly 30 mins, before induction of anaesthesia. In GIMT, granulated sugar in capsules was given orally 60 mins and tramadol (4 mg/kg) intramuscularly 30 mins before induction of anaesthesia. In both groups, dexmedetomidine (0.007 mg/kg) was given intramuscularly 30 mins before induction of anaesthesia with intravenous propofol. Anaesthesia was maintained with isoflurane in oxygen, and atipamezole (0.037 mg/kg) was given intramuscularly 10 mins after extubation. The UNESP-Botucatu multidimensional composite scale was used to conduct pain assessments before premedication and at 20, 60, 120, 240 and 360 mins post-extubation or until rescue analgesia was given. To compare groups, the 60 min postoperative pain scores and the highest postoperative pain scores were analysed via a two-tailed Mann-Whitney test, and the incidences of rescue analgesia were analysed via a Fisher's exact test;<0.05. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between groups for the 60 min ( = 0.68) pain scores. The highest postoperative pain score was higher for GIMT compared with GOT ( = 0.04). Only two cats required rescue analgesia, both from GIMT. The incidence of rescue analgesia was not significantly different between groups ( = 0.46). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In the present study, preoperative administration of oral tramadol at 6 mg/kg to cats provided adequate analgesia for 6 h following ovariohysterectomy surgery.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34493100/