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Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)2013; 197(3); 646-650; doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2013.04.007

Validation of two behaviour-based pain scales for horses with acute colic.

Abstract: Two behaviour-based scales for evaluating abdominal pain in horses (Equine Acute Abdominal Pain Scales, EAAPS-1 and -2) and a numerical rating scale (NRS) were compared for reliability and validity. Forty-one equine veterinarians randomly assigned into three groups were each presented a different set of 28 moving picture films randomly chosen among 36 films of horses with colic and four controls. One randomly chosen film was embedded twice within each set. The first (n=15) and the second (n=16) groups scored pain with the EAAPS-1 and EAPPS-2, respectively, while the third (n=10) used the NRS. The intra-class correlations (ICC) for EAAPS-1 (0.80) and EAAPS-2 (0.76) vs. NRS (0.67) indicated superior inter-rater reliability for both EAPPS scales. The intra-rater reliability of the EAAPS-1 was superior to both the other scales (weighted κ=0.9) vs. 0.5 and 0.7 for EAAPS-2 and NRS, respectively). The convergent validity between both EAAPS scores and the NRS scores was substantial (weighted κ=0.64). Both EAAPS scales discriminated well between extreme groups (areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve, ROC, area under the curve, AUC, >0.9) to differentiate severe from mild pain, as judged by the NRS. Both EAAPS scales showed predictive validity comparable to NRS (AUCs for dichotomous treatment modality (none and medically treated vs. surgically treated or euthanased) and with mortality (dead vs. alive) between 0.6 and 0.7 for all three scales. EAAPS-1 was the most reliable of the three scales and both EAAPS scales demonstrated validity comparable to the NRS scale.
Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Publication Date: 2013-08-28 PubMed ID: 23993390DOI: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2013.04.007Google 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.

This research focused on comparing two behaviour-based scales: EAAPS-1 and EAAPS-2, and a numerical rating scale (NRS) to evaluate their reliability and validity for assessing abdominal pain in horses suffering from acute colic. Both the EAAPS scales demonstrated better inter-rater reliability than the NRS, while the EAAPS-1 had the best intra-rater reliability. Convergent validity and predictive validity tests also confirmed the effectiveness of EAAPS scales comparable to NRS in identifying severe pain.

Objective of the Research

  • The study aimed to validate two behaviour-based scales, EAAPS-1 and EAAPS-2, which are used to assess abdominal pain in horses. The research focused on comparing these two scales with a numerical rating scale (NRS) to determine their reliability and validity.

Experiment Procedure

  • Forty-one equine veterinarians were randomly split into three groups to carry out the evaluation process.
  • Each professional was shown a distinct set consisting of 28 random moving films from 36 available ones, which included horses suffering from colic in addition to four control films. Every set contained one film that was repeated twice.
  • Each group used a different scale for assessing pain: the first group used EAAPS-1, the second used EAAPS-2, and the third group employed the numerical rating scale (NRS).

Research Findings

  • The study found that the intra-class correlations (ICC) for EAAPS-1 and EAAPS-2 were higher than the NRS, indicating more superior inter-rater reliability for both EAAPS scales.
  • The EAAPS-1 exhibited greater intra-rater reliability among all three scales.
  • The convergent validity test which si a measure of the extent to which two measurements of constructs that theoretically should be related, are in fact related, found substantial correlation between the EAAPS and NRS scale scores.
  • Both EAAPS scales were able to distinctly differentiate between extreme cases of pain severity, as determined by the NRS.
  • The EAAPS scales and the NRS demonstrated comparable predictive validity while deciding treatments.
  • The EAAPS-1 scale was the most reliable of the three, and both EAAPS scales validated their effectiveness in identifying pain severity in cases of acute colic in horses as compared to the NRS scale.

Cite This Article

APA
Sutton GA, Paltiel O, Soffer M, Turner D. (2013). Validation of two behaviour-based pain scales for horses with acute colic. Vet J, 197(3), 646-650. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2013.04.007

Publication

Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)
ISSN: 1532-2971
NlmUniqueID: 9706281
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 197
Issue: 3
Pages: 646-650
PII: S1090-0233(13)00178-0

Researcher Affiliations

Sutton, Gila Abells
  • Koret School of Veterinary Medicine Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences, Rehovot 76100, Israel. Electronic address: sutton@agri.huji.ac.il.
Paltiel, Ora
    Soffer, Menashe
      Turner, Dan

        MeSH Terms

        • Animals
        • Behavior, Animal
        • Colic / complications
        • Colic / veterinary
        • Data Collection
        • Female
        • Horse Diseases / diagnosis
        • Horse Diseases / etiology
        • Horses
        • Male
        • Pain / diagnosis
        • Pain / etiology
        • Pain / veterinary
        • Pain Measurement / methods
        • Pain Measurement / veterinary
        • Reproducibility of Results
        • Surveys and Questionnaires

        Citations

        This article has been cited 21 times.
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