Effects of Intravenous Flunixin Meglumine, Phenylbutazone, and Acupuncture on Ocular Pain Scores in the Horse: A Pilot Study.

The research studied the efficiency of intravenous flunixin meglumine, phenylbutazone, and acupuncture in providing ocular pain relief in horses, with flunixin meglumine proving to be the most effective.

Research Objectives and Methodology

• The main goal of this study was to assess the efficacy of three separate treatment methods for ocular pain relief in horses. These methods included intravenous flunixin meglumine, phenylbutazone, and acupuncture.
• A controlled, randomized block pilot study was carried out on four experimental horses that faced corneal epithelial debridement across four sessions.
• In each session, a different treatment or a control, chosen randomly, was used on the horses.
• A multifactorial pain scale was used to measure pain in each horse on a variety of parameters. This was done pre-injury, and then at 18 distinct time points post-injury.

Data Analysis and Findings

• The research analyzed differences in the area under the curve of pain scores between the different treatment groups using a paired t-test. This analysis showed corneal pain reduction by the third postoperative day.
• Out of 11 parameters, five ocular signs showed significant differences between the treatment types and were identified as good indicators of ocular pain. This leaves the remaining parameters to be heart rate, corneal touch threshold, response to palpation, and three behavioral parameters which were found to be irrelevant in assessing pain.
• Looking at the effective five ocular signs, flunixin meglumine group recorded the lowest ocular pain score. This was followed by the electroacupuncture group, the phenylbutazone group, and lastly, the control group.
• Comparatively, Flunixin meglumine group showcased significantly lower pain scores when compared to the control group during the first 46 hours.
• The study concluded that the intravenous administration of Flunixin meglumine was the most effective treatment for relieving ocular pain in horses.

Further Research

• The authors of the study proposed that future research could be directed towards reducing the number of pain score parameters and developing more intricately defined image evaluation criteria.