Pain management in horses involves various strategies and interventions designed to alleviate discomfort and improve the well-being of equine patients. It encompasses pharmacological approaches, such as the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), opioids, and other analgesics, as well as non-pharmacological methods like physical therapy, acupuncture, and environmental modifications. Effective pain management aims to address both acute and chronic pain conditions, which can result from injuries, surgeries, or diseases such as laminitis and arthritis. This page aggregates peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the mechanisms, efficacy, and safety of different pain management techniques in horses, contributing to the understanding and advancement of equine veterinary care.
Gustafsson K, Tatz AJ, Dahan R, Abu Ahmad W, Britzi M, Sutton GA, Kelmer G.The aim of this study was to investigate the safety and pharmacokinetics of trimethoprim-sulphadiazine administered via intravenous regional limb perfusion (IVRLP) into the cephalic vein. According to the hypothesis, the drug could be administered without adverse effects and the synovial concentrations would remain above the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for trimethoprim-sulphadiazine (0.5 and 9.5 µg/mL) for 24 h. Ten ( = 10) horses underwent cephalic vein IVRLP with an Esmarch tourniquet applied for 30 min. Four grams (4 g) of trimethoprim-sulphadiazine (TMP-SDZ) were diluted at 0.9...
Troya-Portillo L, López-Sanromán J, Villalba-Orero M, Santiago-Llorente I.Standing surgery under sedation reduces anesthetic-related mortality in horses. Medetomidine, alone and combined with morphine in a constant rate infusion (CRI), has been described for standing surgery but their cardiorespiratory, sedative and antinociceptive effects have never been compared. The addition of ketamine could improve analgesia in these procedures with minimal cardiorespiratory consequences. The objectives were to compare the cardiorespiratory effects, quality of sedation, antinociception and ataxia produced by administration of a medetomidine-based CRI with morphine, ketamine or ...
Finno CJ.Hoof wall separation disease (HWSD) is a genetic defect in Connemara ponies characterised by separation and cracking of the dorsal hoof wall. The disease can result in chronic inflammation, severe lameness and laminitis. Affected ponies typically show clinical signs within the first six months of life. The disease is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait. The genetic mutation is a frameshift mutation in the gene SERPINB11, (c.504_505insC). Carriers are completely normal, only ponies that are homozygous for the mutation will have clinical signs of the disease. Within the Connemara breed, ca...
Ibrahim A, Mahmoud UT, Ali MM, Ragab SMM.This study described the subcapsular technique for primary closure castration in donkeys with special regard to its efficiency and welfare impacts. The study was conducted on twelve adult male donkeys, allocated randomly into two groups; subcapsular castration (SC) and open castration (OC) groups, whether the donkeys were subjected to surgical castration either by subcapsular or open castration techniques, respectively. Testosterone, cortisol, lactate, glucose, total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglyceride (TG), and nitric oxide (NO) were measured before an...
Seidel SRT, de Souza AF, Fülber J, Bogossian PM, Rodrigues NNP, Baccarin RYA.Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a widely used hemocomponent that holds great promise in equine medicine due to its feasible production and regenerative therapy potential. Its use has been considered as a treatment for chronic laminitis, mainly in terms of its analgesic properties and because it can induce growth in affected hooves. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect on hoof growth attributable to PRP applied in the coronary band of clinically healthy horses by comparing the responses to PRP, saline, and trimming alone. After randomization, the forelimbs of 9 horses received specifi...
Evrard L, Joostens Z, Vandersmissen M, Audigié F, Busoni V.This prospective study aimed to blindly compare the ultrasonographic and standing magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) findings in deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT), navicular bone, and navicular bursa in horses with foot pain, positive digital analgesia, and without definitive radiographic diagnosis. Ultrasonography detected more DDFT abnormalities (32/34 feet vs. 27/34 with sMRI) but identified less palmar navicular abnormalities (23/34 feet vs. 30/34 with sMRI). In suprasesamoidean DDFT lesions, which were mainly dorsally located, changes in echogenicity did not correspond to a particular patt...
Wilson S, Spriet M, Mur PE, Anishchenko S, Beylin D, Katzman S, Galuppo L.Lesions of the deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT) are a cause for foot lameness in horses. Positron emission tomography (PET) could provide valuable information regarding the metabolic activity of these lesions. The aims of this exploratory, prospective, methods comparison study were to assess the ability of fluorine-fluorodeoxyglucose ( F-FDG) PET to detect DDFT lesions and to compare the PET findings with CT and MRI findings. Eight horses with lameness due to pain localized to the front feet were included. Both front limbs of all horses were imaged with F-FDG PET, noncontrast CT, and arteri...
Chanda M, Puangthong C, Pathomsakulwong W, Apichaimongkonkun T, Leklub J.Two horses diagnosed with underrun heels leading to navicular syndrome were fitted with Z-bar shoes. They occasionally showed moderate lameness on the affected legs after the sixth and tenth consecutive farrier adjustments. The affected hooves were sensitive to compression of the frog and sole in their palmar regions. Modified Z-bar shoes were created and shod on the lame legs based on previous with regional anaesthesia and recent clinical examination. The lameness scores were slightly improved at the first shoeing with the modified Z-bar shoes but were markedly improved at four and eight week...
Dyson S, Pollard D.The Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram (RHpE) comprising 24 behaviours was developed to facilitate the identification of musculoskeletal discomfort, with scores of ≥8/24 indicating the presence of pain. The median RHpE score for 147 competitors at World Cup Grand Prix events from 2018 to 2020 was three (interquartile range [IQR] 1-4; range 0-7). The aim of the current study was to apply the RHpE to 38 competitors at the Hickstead-Rotterdam Grand Prix Challenge and 26 competitors at the British Dressage Grand Prix National Championship in 2020. The median RHpE scores were four (IQR 3-6; range 0-8) an...
van Loon JPAM, Macri L.The objective assessment of chronic pain is of utmost importance for improving welfare and quality of life in horses. Freedom from disease and pain is one of the 'five freedoms' that are necessary for animal welfare. The aim of this study was to develop a pain scale for the assessment of chronic pain in horses (Horse Chronic Pain Scale; HCPS), which is based on behavioural and facial expressions. The scale was used to assess 53 horses (26 horses diagnosed with chronic painful conditions by means of clinical examination and additional diagnostic procedures (consisting of osteoarthritis, chronic...
Pagliara E, Nicolo A, Rossi C, Cammaresi C, Donadio G, Bertuglia A.Perineural anaesthesia is an essential part of lameness investigation in horses. Painful reactions to injections imply a high risk of accidents for veterinarians. To evaluate the efficacy of two topical anaesthetic creams on desensitization of the skin at two perineural injection sites and to evaluate the effects these formulations may have on pain perception distally to the application sites. Randomized, blind, prospective study. 14 healthy horses were randomly divided in two groups of 7 horses each, one treated with EMLA and one with PLIAGLIS preparations. The mechanical nociceptive thresh...
Quiney L, Stewart J, Routh J, Dyson S.There is a lack of understanding of the pathological and/or physiological nature of lumbosacral region pain. Objective: To describe the gross variations of the osseous and soft tissues of the lumbosacral region and report the histological findings of sections of nerve tissue in affected and control horses. Methods: Descriptive post-mortem case series. Methods: All horses had undergone full clinical and gait assessment, including ridden exercise. Horses with a substantial response to infiltration of local anaesthetic solution around the sacroiliac joint regions were included in the affected gro...
Beaulieu A, Nykamp S, Phillips J, Arroyo LG, Koenig J, Zur Linden A.Intra-articular injections are routinely performed to alleviate pain and inflammation associated with osteoarthritis in horses. Intra-articular injections require accurate needle placement to optimize clinical outcomes and minimize complications. This study's objectives were to develop and validate a three-dimensional (3D) printed model of an equine cervical articular process joint to teach ultrasound-guided injections. Five identical models of an equine cervical articular process joint were 3D printed and embedded in 10% ballistic gelatin. Experts' and novices' ability to successfully insert ...
de Oliveira MGC, de Paula VV, Mouta AN, Lima IO, de Macêdo LB, Nunes TL, Trindade PHE, Luna SPL.This study aimed to validate a scale for assessing acute pain in donkeys. Forty-four adult donkeys underwent castration after sedation with intravenous (IV) xylazine, induction with guaifenesin and thiopental IV, local anesthetic block, and maintenance with isoflurane. The scale was constructed from a pilot study with four animals combined with algetic behaviors described for equines. After content validation, the scale was evaluated in 40 other donkeys by three blinded and one reference evaluator, by means of edited videos referring to the preoperative and postoperative periods: before anesth...
Estell K.Acute central nervous system (CNS) trauma in the field is best approached by a systematic and thorough physical and neurologic examination that allows the practitioner to localize the brain or spinal cord injury. The skull and vertebral canal are complex 3-dimensional structures, and orthogonal radiographic views are necessary for an accurate diagnosis. Therapeutics aimed at decreasing pain, inflammation, and edema or increased intracranial pressure in the case of traumatic brain injury should be administered. Survival and return to athleticism can be achieved even in moderate-to-severe trauma...
Jiang Z, Chen JW, Haughan J, Stefanovski D, Soma LR, Robinson MA.Extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) is a treatment applied to musculoskeletal injuries in equine athletes to alleviate pain and accelerate healing. ESWT also causes acute tissue damage. Therefore, its ability to act as an analgesic and cause tissue damage potentially increases the risk of a catastrophic event if used shortly before a strenuous competition such as horseracing. While ESWT is prohibited by many racing jurisdictions within 10 days prior to competition, a test to detect whether a horse has received ESWT is needed. ESWT changes the protein levels of inflammatory mediators in bl...
Andersen PH, Broomé S, Rashid M, Lundblad J, Ask K, Li Z, Hernlund E, Rhodin M, Kjellström H.Automated recognition of human facial expressions of pain and emotions is to a certain degree a solved problem, using approaches based on computer vision and machine learning. However, the application of such methods to horses has proven difficult. Major barriers are the lack of sufficiently large, annotated databases for horses and difficulties in obtaining correct classifications of pain because horses are non-verbal. This review describes our work to overcome these barriers, using two different approaches. One involves the use of a manual, but relatively objective, classification system for...
Trindade PHE, Taffarel MO, Luna SPL.This prospective and longitudinal study aimed to identify spontaneous post-orchiectomy pain behaviors in horses regardless of the effects of anesthesia, analgesia, and recording time of day. Twenty-four horses divided into four groups were submitted to: inhalation anesthesia only (GA), or combined with previous analgesia (GAA), or orchiectomy under pre (GCA), or postoperative (GC) analgesia. The data obtained from the subtraction of frequency and/or duration of 34 behaviors recorded during seven 60-min time-points in the 24 h after the anesthesia from those recorded in the mirrored time-points...
Dixon PM, Kennedy R, Reardon RJM.Background: Limited objective information is available on the prevalence of non-traumatic equine cheek teeth fractures, the signalment of affected horses, and the clinical features and treatment of these fractures. Objectives: This study aims to document patterns of idiopathic and infundibular caries-related cheek teeth fractures in a referral population and evaluate associations between fracture patterns and horse age, Triadan position of affected teeth, clinical signs, and deemed necessity for treatment. Study Design: A retrospective case review. Methods: The clinical records at Edinburgh Un...
Cruz-Sanabria JA, Gaschen L, Bragulla HH, Mitchell M, Leise BS.To develop an ultrasound-guided cervical perineural injection technique for horses and to evaluate and compare the distribution of contrast agent among perineural, intra-articular and periarticular injections. Methods: Prospective, experimental cadaveric study. Methods: A total of 14 equine cadaveric necks. Methods: Bilateral ultrasound-guided perineural injection technique for the caudal cervical spinal nerve roots (CSNRs 5-7) was developed. Paramagnetic or iodinated contrast was injected and the distribution of contrast was evaluated using magnetic resonance (MR) or computed tomography (CT) ...
Ellis KL, Seabaugh K, King MR.Local injection of corticosteroids is commonly performed in horses with sacroiliac (SI) region pain and/or dysfunction, ,and ultrasound findings of normal horses and those with SI pain have also been well described. However, no studies have been performed that have evaluated if ultrasound findings, injection technique, or medications injected affect prognosis for return to function. The objectives of the current study are to determine if findings on ultrasound, injection technique, or medications injected are predictive of return to function in horses with SI region pain and/or dysfunction. Me...
Giusto G, Cerullo A, Gandini M.To resolve large colon impactions, frequent enteral administration of large volumes of water (8-10 liters in a 500 kg horse) has been suggested. Furthermore, in large colon volvulus, the simultaneous presence of gastric impaction has been described as a possible predisposing factor. To describe the clinical and surgical features of horses with large colon volvulus associated with aggressive enteral fluid therapy performed to resolve an initial large colon impaction. Records of horses that underwent exploratory laparotomy at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of Turin between 2012-2019 were revie...
Ren C, Liu T, Zhang J.The use of horse-riding simulators in the treatment of chronic low back pain has drawn considerable attention for its efficacy and acceptability to reduce chronic low back pain; because of the similarities in movements provided by equine-assisted therapies and the possible accessibility advantages. However, the results are conflicting. This study aimed to perform a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials to assess the impact of treatments based on horse-riding simulators on chronic low back pain. Methods: A systematic literature search up to January 2021 was performed and 11 studies were...
Natalini CC, Paes SD, Polydoro ADS.The study aim is to compare the effects of epidural administration of two different doses of romifidine combined with morphine in horses. A prospective crossover blinded experimental design was used. Five adult healthy horses two males and three females with a mean body weight of 380 ± 45 Kg (335-425 kg), were studied. Treatments consisted of romifidine 30 μg/kg (R30) or 60 μg/kg (R60) combined with morphine 0.1 mg/kg with a washout interval of 72 hours, administered through an epidural catheter placed at the first intercoccygeal space. Heart rate (HR) and respiratory rate (f), pH, blood ga...
Lagos J, Rojas M, Rodrigues JB, Tadich T.Mules are essential for pack work in mountainous areas, but there is a lack of research on this species. This study intends to assess the perceptions, attitudes, empathy and pain perception of soldiers about mules, to understand the type of human-mule relationship. For this, a survey was applied with closed-ended questions where the empathy and pain perception tools were included and later analyzed through correlations. Open-ended questions were analyzed through text mining. A total of 73 soldiers were surveyed. They had a wide range of ages and years of experience working with equids. Signifi...
Lawless SP, Moorman VJ, Hendrickson DA, Mama KR.To compare efficacy and safety of a continuous rate infusion of detomidine hydrochloride and romifidine hydrochloride for standing elective bilateral laparoscopic ovariectomy in mares. Methods: Blinded, randomized prospective clinical study. Methods: Eighteen healthy mares presenting for elective bilateral ovariectomy METHODS: Mares were randomly assigned to one of two sedation protocols. Prior to surgery, baseline head height, heart rate, respiratory rate, and postural sway were recorded. An IV loading dose of α2-agonist (46 μg/kg romifidine or 13.9 μg/kg detomidine) was administered. S...
Flynn H, Cenani A, Brosnan RJ, DiMaio Knych HK, de Araujo Aguiar AJ.To determine the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of high-concentration formulation of buprenorphine (1.8 mg mL; Simbadol) following subcutaneous (SC) administration in horses. Methods: Prospective, randomized, crossover trial. Methods: A group of six healthy adult horses weighing 521-602 kg. Methods: On three occasions, Simbadol (0.005 mg kg; treatment S5), (0.0025 mg kg; treatment S2.5) or saline (treatment SAL) were administered SC at least 7 days apart in random order. Electrical nociceptive threshold (ENT) measured on the neck region, physiologic variables, locomotor activity, degree...
Delgado OBD, Louro LF, Rocchigiani G, Verin R, Humphreys W, Senior M, Campagna I.To describe dye distribution and spinal nerve involvement after a simulated erector spinae plane (ESP) block performed on fresh equine cadavers. Methods: Experimental cadaver study. Methods: A group of 11 adult equine cadavers. Methods: The spinal region surrounding the sixteenth thoracic vertebra (Th16) of one cadaver was removed and underwent magnetic resonance imaging. In 10 adult equine cadavers [body weight, 549 ± 58 kg (mean ± standard deviation)], 0.2 mL kg of a 50:1 2% lidocaine/dye solution was injected bilaterally (n = 20 injections) into the fascial plane between the transverse p...
Skrzypczak H, Reed R, Brainard B, Sakai D, Barletta M, Quandt J, Smyth C, Ruch M, Knych H.Matrix fentanyl patches have not been investigated in horses and may represent an effective means of providing analgesia over an extended time period without venous catheterisation. Objective: To describe the pharmacokinetics of a matrix transdermal fentanyl patch in horses. Methods: Randomised experiment, Latin-square design. Methods: Six adult horses were given each of three treatments with a 96-hour washout. For each treatment, two 100 µg/h matrix fentanyl patches were applied to the inguinal region (TXA), metacarpus (TXM) or ventral tail base (TXT) for 72 hours. Blood samples for fentan...
Holcombe SJ, Jacobs CC, Cook VL, Gandy JC, Hauptman JG, Sordillo LM.Endotoxemia models are used to study mechanisms and treatments of early sepsis. Repeated endotoxin exposures induce periods of endotoxin tolerance, characterized by diminished proinflammatory responses to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and modulated production of proinflammatory cytokines. Repeated measure designs using equine endotoxemia models are rarely performed, despite the advantages associated with reduced variability, because the altered responsiveness would confound study results and because the duration of equine endotoxin tolerance is unknown. We determined the interval of endotoxin toler...
Schauvliege S, Cuypers C, Michielsen A, Gasthuys F, Gozalo-Marcilla M.To summarize the different methods used to assess sedation and/or adjust the dose or administration rate of alpha-2 agonists in horses and to propose an algorithm to adjust the administration rate of a constant rate infusion of an alpha-2 agonist in horses. Methods: PubMed and Web of Science; search terms: horse, sedation and score. Conclusions: Most authors distinguish between sedation depth, sedation quality and degree of ataxia. These three features are evaluated using scoring systems similar to those classically used to assess pain, i.e. simple descriptive scales, numerical rating scales (...
Papachristos A, Edwards E, Dowrick A, Gosling C.Despite a number of injury prevention campaigns and interventions, horse riding continues to be a dangerous activity, resulting in more accidents per hour than motorcycling, skiing and football. Injuries are often serious, with one in four patients requiring admission to hospital. This study aims to describe the severity of equestrian-related injuries (ERIs) using both clinical parameters and patient-reported outcomes. Methods: A retrospective study of all patients aged ≥18 years admitted to The Alfred Hospital between January 2003 and January 2008 with an ERI was performed. Specific clinica...
Delgado OBD, Louro LF, Rocchigiani G, Verin R, Humphreys W, Senior M, Campagna I.To describe dye distribution and spinal nerve involvement after a simulated erector spinae plane (ESP) block performed on fresh equine cadavers. Methods: Experimental cadaver study. Methods: A group of 11 adult equine cadavers. Methods: The spinal region surrounding the sixteenth thoracic vertebra (Th16) of one cadaver was removed and underwent magnetic resonance imaging. In 10 adult equine cadavers [body weight, 549 ± 58 kg (mean ± standard deviation)], 0.2 mL kg of a 50:1 2% lidocaine/dye solution was injected bilaterally (n = 20 injections) into the fascial plane between the transverse p...
Clarke EJ, Lima C, Anderson JR, Castanheira C, Beckett A, James V, Hyett J, Goodacre R, Peffers MJ.Equine osteoarthritis is a chronic degenerative disease of the articular joint, characterised by cartilage degradation resulting in pain and reduced mobility and thus is a prominent equine welfare concern. Diagnosis is usually at a late stage through clinical examination and radiographic imaging, whilst treatment is symptomatic not curative. Extracellular vesicles are nanoparticles that are involved in intercellular communication. The objective of this study was to investigate the feasibility of Raman and Optical Photothermal Infrared Spectroscopies to detect osteoarthritis using plasma-derive...
Muir WW, Robertson JT.The visceral analgesic, cardiorespiratory, and behavioral effects induced by xylazine, butorphanol, meperidine, and pentazocine were determined in 9 adult horses with colic. Colic was produced by inflating a balloon in the horses' cecum. Heart rate, respiratory rate, mean arterial blood pressure, and cardiac output increased after cecal balloon inflation. Xylazine and butorphanol decreased the hemodynamic response to cecal balloon inflation. Meperidine and pentazocine had minimal effects on the cardiorespiratory changes induced by cecal balloon inflation. Xylazine produced the most pronounced ...
Driessen B, Bauquier SH, Zarucco L.Managing pain in horses afflicted by chronic laminitis is one of the greatest challenges in equine clinical practice because it is the dreadful suffering of the animals that most often forces the veterinarian to end the battle with this disease. The purpose of this review is to summarize our current understanding of the complex mechanisms involved in generating and amplifying pain in animals with laminitis and, based on this information, to propose a modified approach to pain therapy. Furthermore, a recently developed pain scoring technique is presented that may help better quantify pain and t...
Natalini CC.In the past 10 years, there have been many recent advances in spinal techniques in horses, both epidural and subarachnoid, to identify drugs or drug combinations that have sensory effects without motor nerve paralysis, thus providing pain control without these horses becoming recumbent. Opioids, alpha-2 agonists, dissociative drugs, and others have been investigated. Many of these drugs, which have serious side effects when injected systemically in horses, have been shown to have useful analgesic effects when injected spinally. Morphine-like opioids have the greatest potential for spinal use a...
Gómez Alvarez CB, Wennerstrand J, Bobbert MF, Lamers L, Johnston C, Back W, van Weeren PR.Lameness has often been suggested to result in altered movement of the back, but there are no detailed studies describing such a relationship in quantitative terms. Objective: To quantify the effect of induced subtle forelimb lameness on thoracolumbar kinematics in the horse. Methods: Kinematics of 6 riding horses was measured at walk and at trot on a treadmill before and after the induction of reversible forelimb lameness grade 2 (AAEP scale 1-5). Ground reaction forces (GRF) for individual limbs were calculated from kinematics. Results: The horses significantly unloaded the painful limb by 1...
DePuy T, Howard R, Keegan K, Wilson D, Kramer J, Cook JL, Childers MK.To test the hypothesis that botulinum toxin type A (BoNT-A) can attenuate lameness associated with acute synovitis in an equine model. Methods: Four horses 2-6 yrs of age with clinically normal carpi were studied for 15 days. Kinematic gait analysis and clinical measures of lameness were conducted before and after experimental interventions. Horses were randomly assigned to either placebo (saline) or treatment (BoNT-A) groups. On day 0 of the intervention, 50 units of BoNT-A or an equivalent volume of saline (0.09%) was given into the middle carpal joints. On day 14, acute synovitis was induce...
Sanchez LC, Elfenbein JR, Robertson SA.To evaluate effects of butorphanol, acepromazine, and N-butylscopolammonium bromide (NBB) on visceral and somatic nociception and duodenal motility in conscious, healthy horses. Methods: 6 adult horses. Methods: Visceral nociception was evaluated by use of colorectal distention (CRD) and duodenal distention (DD) threshold. Somatic nociception was evaluated via thermal threshold (TT). Nose-to-ground height, heart rate, and respiratory rate were also measured. Each horse received each treatment in randomized order; investigators were not aware of treatments. Butorphanol was administered IV as a ...
Queiroz-Neto A, Zamur G, Gonçalves SC, Carregaro AB, Mataqueiro MI, Harkins JD, Tobin T.Amitraz, an acaricide used to control ectoparasites in animals has a complex pharmacological activity, including alpha2-adrenergic agonist action. The purpose of this research was to investigate the possible antinociceptive and/or sedative effect of amitraz in horses. The sedative effect of the intravenous (i.v.) injection of dimethylformamide (DMF, 5 mL, control) or amitraz (0.05, 0.10, 0.15 mg/kg), was investigated on the head ptosis test. The participation of alpha2-adrenergic receptors in the sedative effect provoked by amitraz was studied by dosing yohimbine (0.12 mg/kg, i.v.). To measure...
Greve L, Pfau T, Dyson S.Altered body lean has been subjectively observed during lungeing in lame horses. The objectives were to quantify the influence of lameness on body lean in trot on the lunge and to investigate the influence of improvement in lameness on the differences in body lean between reins. Thirteen lame horses were trotted in straight lines and lunged on a 10m-diameter circle on both reins before and after lameness was subjectively substantially improved by diagnostic analgesia. A global position system-aided inertial measurement unit attached to the tubera sacrale quantified body lean. Differences betwe...
Knobloch M, Portier CJ, Levionnois OL, Theurillat R, Thormann W, Spadavecchia C, Mevissen M.Ketamine is widely used as an anesthetic in a variety of drug combinations in human and veterinary medicine. Recently, it gained new interest for use in long-term pain therapy administered in sub-anesthetic doses in humans and animals. The purpose of this study was to develop a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPk) model for ketamine in ponies and to investigate the effect of low-dose ketamine infusion on the amplitude and the duration of the nociceptive withdrawal reflex (NWR). A target-controlled infusion (TCI) of ketamine with a target plasma level of 1 microg/ml S-ketamine over 120 ...
Frisbie DD, McIlwraith CW.Joint disease in horses and in humans is a significant social and economic problem and continued research and improvements in therapeutics are needed. Because horses have naturally occurring osteoarthritis that is similar to that of humans, the horse was chosen as a species to investigate gene transfer as a potential therapeutic modality for the treatment of osteoarthritis. Using an established model of equine osteoarthritis, the therapeutic effects resulting from overexpression the equine interleukin-1 receptor antagonist gene sequence through adenoviral mediated gene transfer was investigate...
Goodrich LR, Nixon AJ, Fubini SL, Ducharme NG, Fortier LA, Warnick LD, Ludders JW.To determine whether preoperative epidural administration of morphine and detomidine would decrease postoperative lameness after bilateral stifle arthroscopy in horses. Methods: Prospective clinical controlled study. Methods: Eight adult horses that had bilateral arthroscopic procedures, including drilling of cartilage and subchondral bone within the femoropatellar joints. Methods: Horses were randomly separated into 2 groups. Preoperatively, 4 horses were administered a combination of epidural morphine (0.2 mg/kg) and detomidine (30 microg/kg), and 4 horses were administered an equivalent vol...
Potter JJ, MacFarlane PD, Love EJ, Tremaine H, Taylor PM, Murrell JC.To compare sedative and analgesic properties of buprenorphine or morphine for standing procedures combined with a detomidine continuous rate infusion (CRI). Methods: Blinded, prospective, randomized clinical pilot study. Methods: Ten horses presented for dental or sinus procedures. Methods: Horses received 0.02 mg kg(-1) acepromazine intravenously (IV), followed 30 minutes later by detomidine 10 μg kg(-1) IV. Five minutes later, buprenorphine 0.01 mg kg(-1) (n = 6) or morphine 0.1 mg kg(-1) (n = 4) was administered IV. Detomidine was administered by CRI (0.2 μg kg(-1) minute(-1)) and adjuste...
Meier A, de Laat M, Pollitt C, Walsh D, McGree J, Reiche DB, von Salis-Soglio M, Wells-Smith L, Mengeler U, Mesa Salas D, Droegemueller S, Sillence MN.Laminitis is a common equine disease characterized by foot pain, and is commonly diagnosed using a five-grade Obel system developed in 1948 using sepsis-related cases. However, endocrinopathic laminitis is now the most common form of the disease and clinical signs may be mild, or spread across two Obel grades. This paper describes a modified method which assigns scores to discreet clinical signs, providing a wider scale suitable for use in a research setting. Methods: The "modified Obel" method was developed using an iterative process. First, a prototype method was developed during the detaile...
O'Neill HD, Garcia-Pereira FL, Mohankumar PS.Infiltration of the equine maxillary nerve with local anaesthetic can be useful for both diagnostic and surgical procedures. The deep location and proximity of the nerve to surrounding vascular and orbital structures make an accurate, complication-free injection a challenge using traditional techniques reliant upon surface anatomical landmarks. Objective: To develop an ultrasound-guided injection technique of the maxillary nerve in equine cadavers and to evaluate its efficacy and potential for complications in vivo. Methods: Descriptive cadaver anatomical and clinical study. Methods: The relev...
Parviainen AK, Trim CM.This retrospective study was initiated to identify complications of anaesthesia occurring during ocular surgery. Records of 74 horses anaesthetised for eye enucleation, 65 horses anaesthetised for surgery of the eye and adnexa, and 51 horses anaesthetised for splint bone excision were reviewed. Fifty-three percent of the horses anaesthetised for eye enucleation moved during surgery which was significantly more frequent than in the other groups (P = 0.001). The incidence of moving was significantly reduced by use of an anaesthetic gas analyser for monitoring (P = 0.001). Transient hypertension ...
Rabba S, Grulke S, Verwilghen D, Evrard L, Busoni V.Ultrasonography is routinely used to achieve the diagnosis of equine suspensory ligament desmopathy. In human medicine, power Doppler ultrasonography has also been found to be useful for the diagnosis of tendon/ligament injuries. The aim of this prospective, pilot study was to assess the presence or absence of power Doppler signal in suspensory ligament branches and compare B-mode findings with power Doppler findings in suspensory ligament branches of lame and non-lame limbs. Thirteen horses were used (eight lame horses, with lameness related to pain in the suspensory ligament branches, and fi...
Macgregor J, Graf von Schweinitz D.Myofascial trigger points are commonly described in humans, and many studies have shown abnormal spontaneous electrical activity, spike activity and local twitch responses at these sites. Myofascial trigger points have only rarely been described in horses, and studies of their electrophysiological characteristics have not previously been published. The objective of this study was to explore the electromyographic (EMG) and other characteristics of myofascial trigger points in equine muscle, and to compare them with normal muscle tissue. Methods: Four horses with chronic pain signs and impaired ...
Jochle W, Moore JN, Brown J, Baker GJ, Lowe JE, Fubini S, Reeves MJ, Watkins JP, White NA.Detomidine hydrochloride, butorphanol tartrate, flunixin meglumine and xylazine hydrochloride were evaluated in a blind multi-centre clinical trial in 152 horses with abdominal pain. The drugs were administered as follows: detomidine 20 or 40 micrograms/kg bodyweight (bwt); butorphanol 0.1 mg/kg bwt; flunixin meglumine 1.0 mg/kg bwt; xylazine hydrochloride 0.5 mg/kg bwt. Each centre compared responses to the two doses of detomidine with those to one of the other analgesics. The drugs were administered intravenously (i.v.) after clinical assessment of the degree of sweating, kicking, pawing, he...
Gozalo-Marcilla M, Luna SP, Crosignani N, Filho JNP, Possebon FS, Pelligand L, Taylor PM.To evaluate intravenous (IV) detomidine with methadone in horses to identify a combination which provides sedation and antinociception without adverse effects. Methods: Randomized, placebo-controlled, blinded, crossover. Methods: A group of eight adult healthy horses aged (mean ± standard deviation) 7 ± 2 years and 372 ± 27 kg. Methods: A total of six treatments were administered IV: saline (SAL); detomidine (5 μg kg; DET); methadone (0.2 mg kg; MET) alone or combined with detomidine [2.5 (MLD), 5 (MMD) or 10 (MHD) μg kg]. Thermal, mechanical and electrical nociceptive thresholds were mea...
Espinosa-Mur P, Phillips KL, Galuppo LD, DeRouen A, Benoit P, Anderson E, Shaw K, Puchalski S, Peters D, Kass PH, Spriet M.Cervical osteoarthritis (OA) has been documented as a potential source of pain and poor performance in sport horses. Objective: To assess the prevalence of cervical OA in a population of Warmblood jumpers and its correlation with age, level of performance, neck pain and mobility. Methods: Descriptive observational study. Methods: Warmblood jumpers free of lameness or neurological disorders were selected. Cervical pain and range of motion of the neck were subjectively assessed. Left to right lateral views were taken at C3-C4, C4-C5, C5-C6 and C6-C7. The presence of OA at the cervical articular ...
Shilo Y, Britzi M, Eytan B, Lifschitz T, Soback S, Steinman A.Tramadol is a centrally acting analgesic drug that has been used clinically for the last two decades to treat moderate to moderately severe pain in humans. The present study investigated tramadol administration in horses by intravenous, intramuscular, oral as immediate-release and oral as sustained-release dosage-form routes. Seven horses were used in a four-way crossover study design in which racemic tramadol was administered at 2 mg/kg by each route of administration. Altogether, 23 blood samples were collected between 0 and 2880 min. The concentration of tramadol and its M1 metabolite were ...
Barreto da Rocha P, Driessen B, McDonnell SM, Hopster K, Zarucco L, Gozalo-Marcilla M, Hopster-Iversen C, Esteves Trindade PH, Gonzaga da Rocha TK....Proper pain therapy requires adequate pain assessment. This study evaluated the reliability and validity of the Unesp-Botucatu horse acute pain scale (UHAPS), the Orthopedic Composite Pain Scale (CPS) and unidimensional scales in horses admitted for orthopedic and soft tissue surgery. Forty-two horses were assessed and videotaped before surgery, up to 4 hours postoperatively, up to 3 hours after analgesic treatment, and 24 hours postoperatively (168 video clips). After six evaluators viewing each edited video clip twice in random order at a 20-day interval, they chose whether analgesia would b...
Broomé S, Ask K, Rashid-Engström M, Haubro Andersen P, Kjellström H.Orthopedic disorders are common among horses, often leading to euthanasia, which often could have been avoided with earlier detection. These conditions often create varying degrees of subtle long-term pain. It is challenging to train a visual pain recognition method with video data depicting such pain, since the resulting pain behavior also is subtle, sparsely appearing, and varying, making it challenging for even an expert human labeller to provide accurate ground-truth for the data. We show that a model trained solely on a dataset of horses with acute experimental pain (where labeling is les...
Taylor PM, Crosignani N, Lopes C, Rosa AC, Luna SP, Puoli Filho JN.To examine the relationship between probe tip size and force readings of mechanical nociceptive thresholds (MTs) to identify appropriate probes for horses. Methods: Randomized, crossover study. Methods: Eight adult, mixed-breed horses aged 5-10 years, weighing 268-460 kg. Methods: Four probe configurations (PCs) were used in random sequence: 1.0 mm diameter (SHARP); 3.2 mm (BLUNT); spring-mounted 1.0 mm (SPRING), and 3 × 2.5 mm (3PIN). A remote-controlled unit on the horse increased force (1.2 N second(-1)) in a pneumatic actuator on the metacarpus. Mean MT for each PC was calculated from 10 ...
