Objective tests of analgesic drugs in ponies.
Abstract: An equine model, subjected to three kinds of pain (superficial, deep, and visceral) was used to test effects of analgesic drugs. Two groups of ponies were used. In the first group of six ponies, six drugs (fentanyl, meperidine, methadone, oxymorphone, pentazocine, and xylazine) were given according to a Latin square experimental design, and tests were made at 30-minute intervals for 4 hours. Mean values (control) for the three kinds of pain were obtained before and after the tests and were compared with the mean values (drugs) obtained over 2- and 4-hour intervals (four and eight measurements per interval, respectively). Xylazine was significantly more effective in obtunding deep pain (P less than 0.05) at 2- and 4-hour intervals than were the other drugs. Significant differences were not found between values for controls and values for drugs tested for relief of superficial and visceral pain at 2- and 4-hour intervals. In the second group of four ponies, the drug (xylazine) determined most effective in group 1 ponies was given alone or in combination with the next most effective drugs (fentanyl, meperidine, and oxymorphone). Data were obtained in the same manner as for the first group. Mean values were calculated for 2- and 4-hour intervals, and the variance was analyzed. Xylazine and fentanyl combined had the best 2- and 4-hour performance for the relief of visceral pain in the second group (P less than 0.1). Neither xylazine nor a combination of drugs differed markedly from control values for 2- and 4-hour intervals for relief of superficial and deep pain.
Publication Date: 1979-08-01 PubMed ID: 525911
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- Journal Article
Summary
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This research investigates the effectiveness of different analgesic drugs on ponies experiencing different types of pain. The study found that the drug xylazine was particularly effective in alleviating deeper pain over a period of 2 and 4 hours, whereas its effectiveness in relieving superficial and visceral pain was less significant.
Overview of the Research
- The researchers tested the effectiveness of six different analgesic drugs on two groups of ponies. These drugs included fentanyl, meperidine, methadone, oxymorphone, pentazocine, and xylazine.
- The test subjects were subjected to three different types of pain; superficial, deep, and visceral. An equine model was utilized to simulate these pain types.
- Analgesic drug tests were performed on the first group of six ponies. Each pony was given the six individual drugs in a Latin Square experimental design, and their responses were observed over a 4 hour period, with checks made every 30 minutes.
Key Findings
- The drug Xylazine was found to be significantly more effective in dulling deep pain in ponies at both 2- and 4-hour intervals compared to the other drugs.
- However, there were no significant differences between control values and the effectiveness of the drugs in relieving superficial and visceral pain at these time periods.
Testing the Most Effective Drug
- The second stage of the study focussed on xylazine, identified as the most effective analgesic in the first stage. In this stage, a second group of four ponies was given xylazine either alone or combined with the next most effective drugs from the first group (fentanyl, meperidine, and oxymorphone).
- The data obtained from this phase were similar to those of the first phase – recorded over 2- and 4-hour intervals.
- It was found that the combination of xylazine and fentanyl had the best performance in terms of pain relief for visceral pain in the second group.
- There was no significant difference between the combination of drugs and the control group in terms of relief for superficial and deep pain over 2- and 4-hour intervals.
Cite This Article
APA
Pippi NL, Lumb WV.
(1979).
Objective tests of analgesic drugs in ponies.
Am J Vet Res, 40(8), 1082-1086.
Publication
Researcher Affiliations
MeSH Terms
- Analgesics / therapeutic use
- Animals
- Disease Models, Animal
- Female
- Fentanyl / therapeutic use
- Horse Diseases / drug therapy
- Horses
- Male
- Meperidine / therapeutic use
- Methadone / therapeutic use
- Oxymorphone / therapeutic use
- Pain / drug therapy
- Pain / veterinary
- Pentazocine / therapeutic use
- Xylazine / therapeutic use
Citations
This article has been cited 4 times.- Gigliuto C, De Gregori M, Malafoglia V, Raffaeli W, Compagnone C, Visai L, Petrini P, Avanzini MA, Muscoli C, Viganò J, Calabrese F, Dominioni T, Allegri M, Cobianchi L. Pain assessment in animal models: do we need further studies?. J Pain Res 2014;7:227-36.
- Boatwright CE, Fubini SL, Grohn YT, Goossens L. A comparison of N-butylscopolammonium bromide and butorphanol tartrate for analgesia using a balloon model of abdominal pain in ponies. Can J Vet Res 1996 Jan;60(1):65-8.
- Nolan A, Livingston A, Waterman AE. Investigation of the antinociceptive activity of buprenorphine in sheep. Br J Pharmacol 1987 Nov;92(3):527-33.
- Watts AE, Nixon AJ, Reesink HL, Cheetham J, Fubini SL, Looney AL. Continuous peripheral neural blockade to alleviate signs of experimentally induced severe forelimb pain in horses. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2011 Apr 15;238(8):1032-9.
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