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Home / Equine Research Bank / BMC Vet Res / Refinement and partial validation of the UNESP-Botucatu mult...
BMC veterinary research2015; 11; 83; doi: 10.1186/s12917-015-0395-8

Refinement and partial validation of the UNESP-Botucatu multidimensional composite pain scale for assessing postoperative pain in horses.

Abstract: Quantification of pain plays a vital role in the diagnosis and management of pain in animals. In order to refine and validate an acute pain scale for horses a prospective, randomized, blinded study was conducted. Twenty-four client owned adult horses were recruited and allocated to one of four following groups: anaesthesia only (GA); pre-emptive analgesia and anaesthesia (GAA,); anaesthesia, castration and postoperative analgesia (GC); or pre-emptive analgesia, anaesthesia and castration (GCA). One investigator, unaware of the treatment group, assessed all horses at time-points before and after intervention and completed the pain scale. Videos were also obtained at these time-points and were evaluated by a further four blinded evaluators who also completed the scale. The data were used to investigate the relevance, specificity, criterion validity and inter- and intra-observer reliability of each item on the pain scale, and to evaluate construct validity and responsiveness of the scale. Results: Construct validity was demonstrated by the observed differences in scores between the groups, four hours after anaesthetic recovery and before administration of systemic analgesia in the GC group. Inter- and intra-observer reliability for the items was only satisfactory. Subsequently the pain scale was refined, based on results for relevance, specificity and total item correlation. Conclusions: Scale refinement and exclusion of items that did not meet predefined requirements generated a selection of relevant pain behaviours in horses. After further validation for reliability, these may be used to evaluate pain under clinical and experimental conditions.
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Publication Date: 2015-04-01 PubMed ID: 25888751PubMed Central: PMC4393617DOI: 10.1186/s12917-015-0395-8Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Journal Article
  • Research Support
  • Non-U.S. Gov't

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.

This research evaluates and improves a scale used to measure pain in horses following surgery, demonstrating the scale’s ability to distinguish between different levels of pain and its consistency when used by different evaluators.

Study Design

  • The study was a prospective, randomized, blinded trial incorporating twenty-four horses owned by clients.
  • Horses were split into four groups for the experiment. Each group underwent a different treatment combination involving anaesthesia, castration, and analgesia, to simulate various postoperative conditions.
  • One investigator who was not privy to each horse’s treatment group assessed each horse’s pain levels before and after treatment according to the UNESP-Botucatu multidimensional composite pain scale.
  • Videos of the horses in the pre- and post-treatment phases were also recorded. Four more evaluators, also blinded to the treatment groups, watched these videos and assessed pain levels using the same scale.

Assessment of Pain Scale

  • The researchers used the collected data to evaluate various aspects of the pain scale.
  • Pieces of the scale that were examined included its relevance (the application to the situation), its specificity (the ability to specifically measure pain, not other responses), its criterion validity (the degree to which the scale measures the construct of pain), and its inter- and intra-observer reliability (the consistency of results when used by different observers or by the same observer over time).
  • The scale’s construct validity (effectively measuring the concept it is intended to, which in this case is pain) and responsiveness (how well it picks up changes in what it measures) were also examined.

Results and Conclusion

  • The scale showed good construct validity, as it was able to show differences in pain levels between the different treatment groups.
  • The scale’s inter- and intra-observer reliability was deemed only satisfactory, suggesting there might be some inconsistencies between different users of the scale or even with the same user over time.
  • Based on these results, the researchers refined the pain scale, removing components that didn’t meet necessary criteria. These modifications led to a set of relevant behaviors in horses indicating pain.
  • The study concludes that, after further validation to ensure its reliability, this refined scale can be used to assess pain in both clinical and experimental situations involving horses.

Cite This Article

APA
Taffarel MO, Luna SP, de Oliveira FA, Cardoso GS, Alonso Jde M, Pantoja JC, Brondani JT, Love E, Taylor P, White K, Murrell JC. (2015). Refinement and partial validation of the UNESP-Botucatu multidimensional composite pain scale for assessing postoperative pain in horses. BMC Vet Res, 11, 83. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-015-0395-8

Publication

BMC veterinary research
ISSN: 1746-6148
NlmUniqueID: 101249759
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 11
Pages: 83
PII: 83

Researcher Affiliations

Taffarel, Marilda Onghero
  • Veterinary Medicine Department, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Estrada da Paca s/n, Umuarama, Brazil. mtafarel@yahoo.com.br.
Luna, Stelio Pacca Loureiro
  • Department of Veterinary Surgery and Anesthesiology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, UNESP - Univ Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, SP, 18618970, Brazil. stelio@fmvz.unesp.br.
de Oliveira, Flavia Augusta
  • Department of Veterinary Surgery and Anesthesiology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, UNESP - Univ Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, SP, 18618970, Brazil. flacap1701@gmail.com.
Cardoso, Guilherme Schiess
  • Department of Veterinary Surgery and Anesthesiology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, UNESP - Univ Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, SP, 18618970, Brazil. vetschiess@gmail.com.
Alonso, Juliana de Moura
  • Department of Veterinary Surgery and Anesthesiology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, UNESP - Univ Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, SP, 18618970, Brazil. jumandril@hotmail.com.
Pantoja, Jose Carlos
  • Department of Veterinary Surgery and Anesthesiology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, UNESP - Univ Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, SP, 18618970, Brazil. pntoja@fmvz.unesp.br.
Brondani, Juliana Tabarelli
  • Department of Veterinary Surgery and Anesthesiology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, UNESP - Univ Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, SP, 18618970, Brazil. jtbrondani@yahoo.com.
Love, Emma
  • School of Veterinary Science, Langford House, Langford, UK. Emma.Love@bristol.ac.uk.
Taylor, Polly
  • Taylor Monroe, Ely, Cambridgeshire, UK. polly@taylormonroe.co.uk.
White, Kate
  • School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK. Kate.White@nottingham.ac.uk.
Murrell, Joanna C
  • School of Veterinary Science, Langford House, Langford, UK. lvjcm@bristol.ac.uk.

MeSH Terms

  • Analgesia / veterinary
  • Anesthesia / veterinary
  • Animals
  • Female
  • Horse Diseases
  • Horses
  • Male
  • Orchiectomy / adverse effects
  • Orchiectomy / veterinary
  • Pain Measurement / methods
  • Pain Measurement / veterinary
  • Pain, Postoperative / diagnosis
  • Pain, Postoperative / pathology
  • Pain, Postoperative / veterinary

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Citations

This article has been cited 19 times.
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