Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Measuring pain in cats after spay surgery using pressure tests
By Nicholls, Daniel et al.·Published in Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery·2021·Department of Clinical Sciences and Services, Royal Veterinary College, University of London, London, UK, United Kingdom·View original on Crossref →
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Original publication title: Use of mechanical thresholds in a model of feline clinical acute pain and their correlation with the Glasgow Feline Composite Measure Pain Scale scores
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 29 cats undergoing surgery to remove their ovaries were monitored for pain before and after the procedure. The researchers measured how much pressure the cats could tolerate in the surgical area and found that their pain threshold decreased after surgery, even though the overall pain scores did not show a significant change. This suggests that while the cats were given pain relief, they may still have been more sensitive to touch in the surgical area afterward. The study highlights the need for better ways to assess pain in cats after surgery, as the current pain scale showed poor agreement between different observers.
People also search for: cat surgery pain management · feline pain scale · post-surgery care for cats
Abstract
Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of mechanical thresholds (MT), measured with the SMALGO (Small Animal ALGOmeter), and to determine whether there was a correlation between MT and Glasgow Feline Composite Measure Pain Scale (CMPS–Feline) scores in cats undergoing ovariohysterectomy. Methods Client-owned cats undergoing flank ovariohysterectomy were recruited. Pain scores for the pre- and postoperative periods were obtained using the CMPS-Feline in each cat by two independent investigators (A and B). Following CMPS–Feline scoring, MT were measured with the SMALGO, in the surgical area, pre- and postoperatively, only by investigator A. Each cat served as its own control for the comparison of pre- and postoperative variables. Reliability statistics were used to assess the level of inter-observer agreement (A vs B) with respect to pre- and postoperative CMPS–Feline scores, while Spearman’s correlation statistics were used to analyse the relationship between MT and CMPS–Feline scores. Results Twenty-nine cats completed the study. Preoperative MT (340 g [range 108–691]) were significantly higher than postoperatively (233 g [range 19–549]; P = 0.001). CMPS–Feline scores were not found to differ significantly between the preoperative period (2 [range 0–7] for investigator A and 3.2 ± 2.3 for investigator B) and postoperative period (2 [range 0–10] for investigator A and 3 [range 0–8] for investigator B) for either investigator. Reliability statistics revealed that the level of inter-observer agreement with respect to CMPS–Feline was fair for the preoperative assessments but poor for the postoperative evaluations. There was no correlation between MT and CMPS-Feline scores. Conclusions and relevance Although there was no correlation with CMPS–Feline scores performed at the same timepoint, MT increased postoperatively vs baseline. Assuming that, despite analgesia, susceptibility of the surgical area to mechanical stimulation would increase after surgery, this finding suggests that MT might be useful to assess feline surgical pain. The poor level of inter-observer agreement with respect to postoperative CMPS–Feline scores highlights the potential limitations of this scale.
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Search related cases →Original publication on Crossref: https://doi.org/10.1177/1098612x211035051