Assessment Of Pain In Animals Research Articles

A novel methodology utilizing microchip implants to monitor individual activity and body temperature for assessing knee pain in group-housed rats

The pain assessment in animals is challenging as they cannot verbally express the site and severity of pain. In this study, we tried a small implantable actimeter, “Nanotag”, to monitor spontaneous locomotor activity and body temperature in animals suffering from a chemical-induced rat knee arthritis as compared to naïve and steroid-treated rats. Nanotag could detect the decrease in locomotor activity quickly after the arthritis induction and anti-inflammation analgesic treatment by intra-articular injection of steroid significantly improved locomotor activity. These changes were in the same line with those of a conventional knee pain evaluation method (incapacitance test). Nanotag can be utilized as the non-interventional, continuous, and completely objective monitoring the amount of pain in rat knee arthritis model. This traditional yet innovative method may be universally applicable to various pain models and species, making it a worthwhile device for research across diverse fields.

Recognition and Assessment of Pain-Related Behaviors in Avian Species: An Integrative Review.

The appropriate recognition and assessment of pain in animals is an essential tool that can be used by veterinary professionals, rehabilitators, household caregivers, and others to provide supportive care and analgesia to patients. Although the use of behavioral, postural, and facial changes to recognize pain have been studied in popular domestic species such as dogs (Canis lupus familiaris), cats (Felis catus), and rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), very little is known relative to avian species. The purpose of this article is to provide a literature review comprising structured searches on the topic of avian pain recognition. The emphasis of the searches were based on the behavioral and postural alterations that have thus far been explored. The literature review was performed in the months of August-September 2020 over 5 online databases: MEDLINE/ PubMed, CAB Direct, Biosis, Zoological Record, and Scopus. Additional "snowballing" was incorporated by looking at the references and articles that cited the 126 articles from the initial abstract and full-text screening. Of the 194 full-text articles reviewed, 132 sources of literature were included in the final analysis. From these 132 sources of literature, 31.8% were general review articles in which avian pain behaviors were described irrespective of species, with others being specific to a particular species (chickens 47.8%, turkeys 7.6%, parrots 3.8%, pigeons [Columba livia] 3%, raptors 3%, and "other" 3%-2 on ducks, 1 on emus [Dromaius novaehollandiae], and 1 on Eurasian blue tits [Cyanistes caeruleus]). Pain stimulus varied depending on species, although the vast majority of the pain stimuli involved welfare issues such as beak trimming, limb abnormalities, and keel bone fractures in chickens. Although information regarding this topic remains limited for many avian species, this review provides a more thorough understanding of behavioral indicators of pain in species such as chickens, turkeys, psittacines, pigeons, raptors, and select others. It is the hope that this review will motivate further interest and future analgesia research for the improvement of avian welfare.

Pain assessment in companion animals: an update

An article ‘Pain assessment in animals’ was previously published in In Practice (Reid and others 2013). This short article aims to bring the reader up to date with what we...

Pain scoring systems in the canine and feline patient

It is important that veterinary professionals are able to recognise and assess pain in patients under their care. Veterinary patients cannot verbalise, or self-report on the amount of pain they are experiencing, so it is the responsibility of the professionals caring for them to be able to recognise the signs of pain, which can differ greatly between species. Once the veterinary professional has recognised the signs of pain during assessment they can then determine and appreciate the type or types of pain the patient is suffering, for example neuropathic, acute and chronic, and create an individual analgesic treatment plan. The assessment of pain in animals is for the most part based on the recognition of behavioural changes in response to pain, which cannot only vary between species but also between individuals within that species. Pain scoring systems can be utilised to quantify pain; putting a number on the level of pain for the purpose of determining whether pain exists, whether analgesia is sufficient, and in order to monitor patient progress in terms of pain management. These take into account the behavioural changes and responses of the patient and guide the user towards the calculation of a score. This article explores some of the key concepts relating to the recognition and quantification of pain, and the reliability and validity of pain scores, before considering the different pain scoring systems available for use in veterinary practice and their relative merits.

Pain assessment in animals

Attitudes to pain in animals have changed dramatically over the past two decades, with marked advances in its treatment. However, while the importance of measuring animal pain in a valid...

Assessment of animal pain and mechanism-based strategies for its reversal

Effective management of pain is critical to the improvement of animal welfare. For this to happen, pain must be recognised and assessed in a variety of contexts. Pain is a complex phenomenon, making reliable, valid, and feasible measurement challenging. The use of facial expressions as a technique to assess pain in non-verbal human patients has been widely utilised for many years. More recently this technique has been developed for use in a number of non-human species: rodents, rabbits, ferrets, cats, sheep, pigs and horses. Facial expression scoring has been demonstrated to provide an effective means of identifying animal pain and in assessing its severity, overcoming some of the limitations of other measures for pain assessment in animals. However, there remain limitations and challenges to the use of facial expression as a welfare assessment tool which must be investigated. This paper reviews current facial expression pain scales (“Grimace Scales”), discussing the general conceptual and methodological issues faced when assessing pain, and highlighting the advantages of using facial expression scales over other pain assessment methods. We provide guidance on how facial expression scales should be developed so as to be valid and reliable, but we also provide guidance on how they should be used in clinical practice.

Rodent Models of Persistent Pain in Drug Discovery and Development

The increasing debate regarding the predictiveness of rodent persistent pain models for clinical efficacy has spurred rapidly evolving numbers and types of novel models from which to choose. While several excellent reviews of these models have been published in recent years, few focus on their specific applications and particular challenges with the use of these models in the setting of drug discovery. Thus, in this review, how models of persistent pain may be used to: 1) screen molecules for in vivo efficacy, 2) advance lead compounds and 3) guide decision making for clinical trial design is discussed. Relative to other disease areas for potential drug discovery and development, chronic pain appears to be well-poised for drug discovery and development. This is in large part due to the advanced understanding of pain mechanisms and the upsurge in the development of novel, specialized rodent models of persistent pain and improvements in methods of pain assessment in animals.

Equine pain assessment for the VN

Accurate pain assessment is essential to optimal pain management and the maintenance of animal welfare, a fundamental goal of veterinary professionals. Pain assessment in animals is, however, a considerable challenge with no ‘gold standard’ indicator to guide our decision-making.

Recognition and assessment of pain in animals

Pain is a complex physiological phenomenon, it is hard to define in a satisfactory manner in human beings, and it is extremely difficult to recognize and interpret in animals. According to the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), pain is defined as an unpleasant sensory or emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage. Pain is an important aspect of life and its prevention and decrease are important as a goal to achieve the well-being of animals. The task of scientists is to recognize the language of pain interpretation which animals use to seek help. For an objective evaluation of pain, it is essential to possess a good knowledge of physiology, etiology and clinical diagnosis. We are obliged to do this also because of the ethic principles to defend the well-being of animals and to eliminate any factor which can cause feelings of pain or suffering. The recognition of pain and its manifestation is especially important in cases of animal abuse, when it could be the only symptom. Animals can be quiet and instinctively hide the presence of pain, which makes the symptoms more subtle, but does not make their injuries any less painful. It is also important to have knowledge of manifestations of pain that appear during different surgical procedures performed by the veterinarinarian in spite of the applied dose of analgetic. Pain significantly contributes to the suffering of animals and in such cases it is important to collect relevant documents, in the form of video recordings or in photodocumentation form, because it is important information in the processing of cases of animal abuse. Veterinary experts have the responsibility to recognize, evaluate, and prevent pain and to relieve animals from the pain, which should be the fourth vital sign, following temperature, pulse and breathing, and participate in the evaluation of the condition of the animal during an examination. Due to all the above mentioned, it is essential to secure efficacious prevention and control of pain, which is reflected in the recognition of pain, making a diagnosis, developing a plan of therapy, and adapting the therapy over a longer time period, especially in cases of chronic pain.

Pain Assessment in Animals

Bufalari, A., Adami, C., Angeli, G. and Short, C.E., 2007. Pain assessment in animals. Veterinary Research Communications, 31(Suppl. 1), 55–58

Neurophysiological techniques to assess pain in animals

Neurophysiological techniques are widely applied to animals, both in the search as a monitor for adequacy of anaesthesia, and studies to assess the efficacy of analgesic agents. Laboratory animals have been extensively used in models to investigate pain in man. However a substantial number of studies have also used neurophysiological techniques to increase knowledge of pain in specific animal species, with the aim of improving animal welfare. This review provides an overview of neurophysiological techniques involving the brain that have been used in the assessment of pain in animals. An explanation of the methodology of EEG recording, with particular emphasis on veterinary studies, is given. Neurophysiological models developed to assess pain in different species are described, and their relevance to advancements in animal welfare or best clinical practice indicated.

Assessing Pain in Animals

AbstractAssessing the experience of pain in animals is a difficult task, yet one that is important in animal welfare research. Some approaches to pain assessment in animals are reviewed here. General qualities of pain scales and specific parameters suitable for clinical and experimental pain assessments are discussed. It is argued that pain assessment will progress through an integration of objective and subjective observations of behaviour coupled with multiple measures in various other areas. Such multidimensional pain scales allow an adequate characterisation of the complexity of an individual animal's pain experience to be made. This knowledge improves the recognition and treatment of pain and will allow informed moral debate on the acceptability of practices such as castration and tail-docking of lambs.

Refinement of animal use--assessment and alleviation of pain and distress.

The refinement of experimental techniques represents an important opportunity to improve the welfare of laboratory animals. Objective methods for the assessment of pain and distress in animals are needed before procedures that are claimed to be refinements can be evaluated. The methods currently used for assessment of pain and distress are unsatisfactory, and are often based on uncritical anthropomorphic assumptions. Future developments may enable the establishment of well validated clinical scoring systems, or identification of biochemical or physiological indices of pain or distress. If reliable methods of pain assessment can be developed, then a critical evaluation of the methods available for the alleviation of pain and distress can be undertaken. This article reviews methods of clinical pain assessment in animals, with reference to the techniques used in man. Techniques for pain alleviation are briefly reviewed.

Pain in Birds

AbstractFor the detection and assessment of pain in animals both behavioural and physiological measurements are necessary. Cutaneous receptors which responded to noxious stimulation (nociceptors) have been identified in birds and have been characterized physiologically in the chicken. Following cutaneous nociceptive stimulation the chicken showed cardiovascular and characteristic behavioural changes consistent with those seen in mammals and indicative of pain perception. Following major burn trauma (partial beak amputation) there was behavioural and electrophysiological evidence fora pain-free period lasting several hours. This pain-free period was followed by pain-related behaviour with both anatomical and physiological evidence for long-term chronic pain.While pain has been assessed following nociceptive stimulation and following trauma the painful consequences of chronic disease have not been investigated Spontaneous degenerative joint disease is widespread in certain strains of intensively reared poultry, and while we do not know what effect joint degeneration has on the joint capsule receptors, recent work has shown in the joint capsule of birds there are similar receptor types to those found in mammals and it seems likely that joint degeneration in birds may be accompanied by painful sensations.Experimental work has clearly detected painful conditions in birds but the alleviation of pain with analgesic drugs is not possible at present because analgesic agents have not been systematically investigated in birds.Comparing pain in birds with mammals it is clear that, with regard to the anatomical, physiological and behavioural parameters measured, there are no major differences and therefore the ethical considerations normally afforded to mammals should be extended to birds.

Assessment of pain in animals

Judgements about pain and suffering in animals are required by the law of many countries and by many professional guidelines. Nevertheless, such assessments raise many problems, even in humans. Furthermore, an appeal to continuities between humans and other animals is clouded when, as is still the case, both the evolution and the function of a subjective sense of pain are obscure. Despite these difficulties, the criteria that lead to the judgement that a human is in pain can be generalized with substantial measure of agreement to other animals. This generalization is done on the basis of uncovering comparable mechanisms and comparable behaviour; then the whole cluster of features found in the animal is used to make the judgement. The less similar the animal to a human and the less complex it is, the more difficult is the assessment. The fuzziness of the boundary between those animals that are judged to feel pain and those that are not does not invalidate the process of assessment. However, the extent to which an animal is given the benefit of the doubt clearly depends on the empathy a person feels for it as well as the type of ethical concerns that motivate the person.

Book Review: Guidelines for the Recognition and Assessment of Pain in Animals

Book Review: Guidelines for the Recognition and Assessment of Pain in Animals

Guidelines for the recognition and assessment of pain in animals. Prepared by a working party of the Association of Veterinary Teachers and Research Workers.

Despite some views to the contrary the working party of the Association of Veterinary Teachers and Research Workers considers that it has been demonstrated that it is possible to prepare guidelines for the recognition and assessment of pain in experimental animals. The detailed information readily available on species specific signs is limited and it has been particularly difficult to obtain such signs for the smaller mammals and for the non-mammalian species.