Catestatin, vasostatin, cortisol, temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, scores of the short form of the Glasgow composite measure pain scale and visual analog scale for stress and pain behavior in dogs before and after ovariohysterectomy.

Thanikul Srithunyarat,Ulf Olsson,Anne-Sofie Lagerstedt,Odd V Höglund,Ragnvi Hagman,Mats Stridsberg,Ann Pettersson

doi:10.1186/s13104-016-2193-1

Abstract

BackgroundThe stress reaction induced by surgery and associated pain may be detrimental for patient recovery and should be minimized. The neuropeptide chromogranin A (CGA) has shown promise as a sensitive biomarker for stress in humans. Little is known about CGA and its derived peptides, catestatin (CST) and vasostatin (VS), in dogs undergoing surgery. The objectives of this study were to investigate and compare concentrations of CGA epitopes CST and VS, cortisol, body temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, scores of the short form of the Glasgow composite measure pain scale (CMPS-SF) and visual analog scales (VAS) for stress and pain behavior in dogs before and after ovariohysterectomy.MethodsThirty healthy privately owned female dogs admitted for elective ovariohysterectomy were included. Physical examination, CMPS-SF, pain behavior VAS, and stress behavior VAS were recorded and saliva and blood samples were collected before surgery, 3 h after extubation, and once at recall 7–15 days after surgery. Dogs were premedicated with morphine and received carprofen as analgesia for 7 days during the postoperative period.ResultsAt 3 h after extubation, CMPS-SF and pain behavior VAS scores had increased (p < 0.0001) and stress behavior VAS scores, temperature, respiratory rate (p < 0.0001), plasma CST concentrations (p = 0.002) had decreased significantly compared to before surgery. No significant differences were observed in the subjective and physiological parameters between before surgery and at recall, but plasma CST (p = 0.04) and serum cortisol (p = 0.009) were significantly lower at recall. Plasma VS, saliva CST, and heart rate did not differ significantly at any observed time.ConclusionStudy parameters for evaluating surgery-induced stress and pain changed in dogs subjected to ovariohysterectomy. To further evaluate CST and VS usefulness as pain biomarkers, studies on dogs in acute painful situations are warranted.

Highlights

The stress reaction induced by surgery and associated pain may be detrimental for patient recovery and should be minimized
The stress reaction induced by surgery is generally proportional to the degree of tissue trauma [7,8,9]
Based on the information reported by all owners during the postoperative telephone interview, there was no indication of complications in any of the dogs

Summary

Introduction

The stress reaction induced by surgery and associated pain may be detrimental for patient recovery and should be minimized. Animals as well as humans may react to stress by stimulation of the sympatho-adrenal-medullary (SAM) axis and the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis [1, 2]. Activation of these systems causes changes in physiological parameters such as heart and respiratory rate and cortisol, catecholamines, and neuropeptide secretion. Essential for coping with acute changes in the body’s homeostasis, stress and prolonged stress reactions can be detrimental [2,3,4] Both acute and chronic pain, as well as surgery, can induce a stress response [5, 6]. All currently available stress and pain assessment methods have shortcomings and new objective biomarkers would be of great value

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