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Animals : an open access journal from MDPI2020; 10(2); 354; doi: 10.3390/ani10020354

Monitoring Acute Pain in Donkeys with the Equine Utrecht University Scale for Donkeys Composite Pain Assessment (EQUUS-DONKEY-COMPASS) and the Equine Utrecht University Scale for Donkey Facial Assessment of Pain (EQUUS-DONKEY-FAP).

Abstract: Objective pain assessment in donkeys is of vital importance for improving welfare in a species that is considered stoic. This study presents the construction and testing of two pain scales, the Equine Utrecht University Scale for Donkey Composite Pain Assessment (EQUUS-DONKEY-COMPASS) and the Equine Utrecht University Scale for Donkey Facial Assessment of Pain (EQUUS-DONKEY-FAP), in donkeys with acute pain. A cohort follow-up study using 264 adult donkeys ( = 12 acute colic, = 25 acute orthopaedic pain, = 18 acute head-related pain, = 24 postoperative pain, and = 185 controls) was performed. Both pain scales showed differences between donkeys with different types of pain and their control animals ( < 0.001). The EQUUS-DONKEY-COMPASS and EQUUS-DONKEY-FAP showed high inter-observer reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.97 and 0.94, respectively, both < 0.001). Sensitivity of the EQUUS-DONKEY-COMPASS was good for colic and orthopaedic pain (83% and 88%, respectively), but poor for head-related and postoperative pain (17% and 21%, respectively). Sensitivity of the EQUUS-DONKEY-FAP was good for colic and head-related pain (75% and 78%, respectively), but moderate for orthopaedic and postoperative pain (40% and 50%, respectively). Specificity was good for all types of pain with both scales (91%-99%). Different types of acute pain in donkeys can be validly assessed by either a composite or a facial expression-based pain scale.
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Publication Date: 2020-02-22 PubMed ID: 32098391PubMed Central: PMC7070438DOI: 10.3390/ani10020354Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research paper discusses the creation and testing of two pain scales, the Equine Utrecht University Scale for Donkey Composite Pain Assessment (EQUUS-DONKEY-COMPASS) and the Equine Utrecht University Scale for Donkey Facial Assessment of Pain (EQUUS-DONKEY-FAP), developed for objective pain assessment in donkeys. The paper shows that these two scales can be used to effectively identify different types of acute pain in donkeys, with notable differences observed between donkeys suffering from different types of pain and their healthy counterparts.

Study Design and Participants

  • The study is a cohort follow-up study, and it involved 264 adult donkeys.
  • The donkeys were suffering from different types of acute pain: colic (12 donkeys), orthopaedic pain (25 donkeys), head-related pain (18 donkeys), postoperative pain (24 donkeys). The control group consisted of 185 donkeys without any acute pain.

Reliability and Sensitivity of the Scales

  • Both EQUUS-DONKEY-COMPASS and EQUUS-DONKEY-FAP scales demonstrated high inter-observer reliability, meaning multiple researchers could use these scales and produce consistent results. Cronbach’s alpha, a measure of internal consistency reliability, was reported to be 0.97 and 0.94 for the two scales respectively.
  • However, their sensitivity varied depending on the type of pain. Sensitivity refers to the ability of these scales to correctly identify donkeys that are in pain. The EQUUS-DONKEY-COMPASS scale had good sensitivity for donkeys with colic and orthopaedic pain, but did not perform well for head-related and postoperative pain. The EQUUS-DONKEY-FAP scale showed good sensitivity for colic and head-related pain but only moderate sensitivity for orthopaedic and postoperative pain.

Specificity and Validity

  • The specificity of both the scales, which is the ability to correctly identify donkeys that are not in pain, was high for all types of pain (91%-99%).
  • The study concludes that both the composite and facial expression-based pain scales can validly assess different types of acute pain in donkeys. This implies the tools are useful in measuring exactly what they are intended to measure – acute pain in donkeys.

Cite This Article

APA
van Dierendonck MC, Burden FA, Rickards K, van Loon JPAM. (2020). Monitoring Acute Pain in Donkeys with the Equine Utrecht University Scale for Donkeys Composite Pain Assessment (EQUUS-DONKEY-COMPASS) and the Equine Utrecht University Scale for Donkey Facial Assessment of Pain (EQUUS-DONKEY-FAP). Animals (Basel), 10(2), 354. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10020354

Publication

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
ISSN: 2076-2615
NlmUniqueID: 101635614
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 10
Issue: 2
PII: 354

Researcher Affiliations

van Dierendonck, Machteld C
  • Department of Equine Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 114, 3584 CM Utrecht, The Netherlands.
  • Department of Nutrition, Genetics and Ethology, Veterinary Faculty, Ghent University, Heidestraat 19, 9820 Merelbeke-Ghent, Belgium.
  • Department of Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, Antwerp University, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk-Antwerp, Belgium.
Burden, Faith A
  • The Donkey Sanctuary, Sidmouth, Devon EX10 0NU, UK.
Rickards, Karen
  • The Donkey Sanctuary, Sidmouth, Devon EX10 0NU, UK.
van Loon, Johannes P A M
  • Department of Equine Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 114, 3584 CM Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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