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Home / Equine Research Bank / Vet J / Monitoring equine head-related pain with the Equine Utrecht ...
Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)2017; 220; 88-90; doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2017.01.006

Monitoring equine head-related pain with the Equine Utrecht University scale for facial assessment of pain (EQUUS-FAP).

Abstract: This study validates a recently described pain scale, the Equine Utrecht University scale for facial assessment of pain (EQUUS-FAP), in horses with acute or postoperative pain originating from the head, including dental pain, ocular pain, or trauma to the skull. This cohort study of 23 horses with head-related pain and 23 normal, healthy controls revealed significant differences in EQUUS-FAP scores between control horses and horses with acute or postoperative pain (P <0.001). Moreover, pain scores after surgery decreased significantly over time (P <0.001). The scale showed good inter-observer reliability (intra-class correlation coefficient = 0.92), sensitivity (80%), specificity (78%), and positive (80%) and negative predictive values (78%).
Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Publication Date: 2017-01-10 PubMed ID: 28190503DOI: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2017.01.006Google 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 study investigates the effectiveness of the Equine Utrecht University scale for facial assessment of pain (EQUUS-FAP) in determining head-related pain in horses, showing its high reliability, sensitivity, and specificity.

Study Overview

  • The research was conducted to validate the EQUUS-FAP, a pain scale specifically designed for assessing head-related pain in horses. It involved a sample of 23 horses suffering from acute or postoperative head-related pain, including conditions like dental pain, ocular pain or trauma to the skull.
  • Another group of 23 healthy horses were used as control subjects for comparison. This two-group setup helped the researchers to accurately evaluate and compare the efficiency and consistency of the EQUUS-FAP scale.

Key Findings

  • The EQUUS-FAP scores unveiled significant differences when comparing healthy control horses to those suffering from acute or postoperative head-related pain. This shows that the scale can effectively discern pain symptoms in horses.
  • The study also demonstrated that the scores from the EQUUS-FAP pain scale decreased significantly over time after surgery, indicating the scale’s potential to track the progress of recovery from postoperative pain.

Scale Reliability and Effectiveness

  • The inter-observer reliability of the EQUUS-FAP pain scale was found to be excellent, with the intra-class correlation coefficient measuring at 0.92. This indicates that there’s a high degree of agreement in the scale’s scoring when used by different observers, suggesting it can be a reliable tool for objectively assessing equine pain.
  • The study reported sensitivity (80%) and specificity (78%) of EQUUS-FAP. High sensitivity confirms that the scale is good at identifying true positives — horses that are in pain, while high specificity shows it is good at identifying true negatives — horses that are not suffering from pain.
  • Positive and negative predictive values were both reported at 78%, indicating that the scale is similarly accurate in predicting the presence and absence of pain.

With these results, the researchers concluded that the EQUUS-FAP is an effective and reliable tool for assessing and monitoring head-related pain in horses. This can aid in more appropriate and timed interventions, promoting animal welfare.

Cite This Article

APA
van Loon JP, Van Dierendonck MC. (2017). Monitoring equine head-related pain with the Equine Utrecht University scale for facial assessment of pain (EQUUS-FAP). Vet J, 220, 88-90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2017.01.006

Publication

Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)
ISSN: 1532-2971
NlmUniqueID: 9706281
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 220
Pages: 88-90
PII: S1090-0233(17)30011-4

Researcher Affiliations

van Loon, Johannes P A M
  • Department of Equine Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 114, NL-3584 CM Utrecht, The Netherlands. Electronic address: j.p.a.m.vanloon@uu.nl.
Van Dierendonck, Machteld C
  • Department of Equine Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 114, NL-3584 CM Utrecht, The Netherlands; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium; Department of Veterinary Sciences Antwerp University, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk - Antwerp, Belgium.

MeSH Terms

  • Acute Pain / diagnosis
  • Acute Pain / etiology
  • Acute Pain / veterinary
  • Animals
  • Cohort Studies
  • Face / physiopathology
  • Female
  • Head / physiopathology
  • Horse Diseases / diagnosis
  • Horse Diseases / etiology
  • Horses
  • Male
  • Observer Variation
  • Pain Measurement / methods
  • Pain Measurement / veterinary
  • Pain, Postoperative / diagnosis
  • Pain, Postoperative / etiology
  • Pain, Postoperative / veterinary
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sensitivity and Specificity

Citations

This article has been cited 15 times.
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