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Peer-reviewed veterinary case report

Does washing cat declaw wounds with bupivacaine reduce pain

By Winkler, K P et al.·Published in Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association·1997·Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed

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Original publication title: The effect of wound irrigation with bupivacaine on postoperative analgesia of the feline onychectomy patient.

Species:
cat

Plain-English summary

Eighteen cats that had surgery to remove their claws (onychectomy) were studied to see if rinsing their wounds with a pain-relieving medication called bupivacaine would help reduce pain after the procedure. Half of the cats received the bupivacaine, while the other half received a saltwater solution. Two hours after waking up from anesthesia, the cats that received bupivacaine actually had higher pain scores than those that received the saline. However, by three hours post-surgery, there was no significant difference in pain levels between the two groups.

People also search for: cat claw removal pain relief · onychectomy pain management · bupivacaine for cats after surgery

Abstract

Eighteen cats that each underwent an elective onychectomy were evaluated using a double-blind study design to determine if wound irrigation with bupivacaine prior to wound closure would decrease postoperative pain. The cats were divided alternately into an experimental group (n = 9) and a control group (n = 9). The experimental patients received bupivacaine in each incision prior to closure. The control patients received saline in each incision prior to closure. The patients were evaluated for postoperative pain using a pain-score system. The bupivacaine-treated patients had a significantly higher mean pain score at two hours following recovery from anesthesia than the saline-treated patients. At three hours following recovery from anesthesia, pain scores were not significantly different.

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Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9204473/