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ABSTRACT OF THE WEEK

The Veterinary record
Volume 186 | Issue 18 (June 2020)

Analgesia in pet rabbits: a survey study on how pain is assessed and ameliorated by veterinary surgeons.

Vet Rec. June 2020;186(18):603.
Livia Benato1, Joanna C Murrell2, Emily-Jayne Blackwell3, Richard Saunders4, Nicola Rooney5
1 Animal Welfare and Behaviour, School of Veterinary Sciences, University of Bristol, Langford, UK livia.benato@bristol.ac.uk.; 2 School of Veterinary Sciences, University of Bristol, Langford, UK.; 3 Animal Welfare and Behaviour, School of Veterinary Sciences, University of Bristol, Langford, UK.; 4 Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund, Enigma House, Culmhead Business Centre, Taunton, UK.; 5 Animal Welfare and Behaviour, School of Veterinary Sciences, University of Bristol, Langford, UK.
© British Veterinary Association 2020. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:In the last 20 years, two studies on the veterinary use of perioperative analgesia in small mammals reported a limited use of analgesics in rabbits but suggested an increasing use over the years. The aim of this study was to better understand how pain is treated and ameliorated in rabbits while under veterinary care.
METHODS:An online survey of 60 questions was developed and advertised at national and international veterinary conferences, in veterinary publications and on social media.
RESULTS:In total 94.3 per cent of the respondents routinely administered nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to rabbits undergoing surgical procedures such as neutering, 71.4 per cent administered an opioid and 70.3 per cent routinely administered multimodal analgesia, although dosages do not always match current consensus opinion. Buprenorphine and meloxicam were the most common analgesic drugs prescribed by the respondents. The dosage of meloxicam administered both parenterally and orally varied widely.
CONCLUSION:Rabbit analgesia has improved over recent years similarly to the trend seen in other companion animals. However, overall it seems that pain assessment is still limited in rabbits. The lack of multimodal composite pain scales specific for rabbits makes this task even more challenging.

Keywords
analgesia*; behavioural indicators*; pain*; pain scale*; rabbits*;

Keywords
analgesia; behavioural indicators; pain; pain scale; rabbits;

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