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OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of intranasal (IN) flunixin meglumine (FM) and intra-inguinal (IG) lidocaine on castration inflammation using prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) concentration as a biomarker. METHODS: This randomized controlled trial was conducted in March 2022. Blood was collected at -24, 1, and 24 hours postcastration for PGE2 quantification from 195 piglets that received 1 of 8 treatments: (1) saline (1.5 mL) applied IG and IN (0.2 mL) followed by surgical castration (n = 24); (2) saline (1.5 mL) IG and IN (0.2 mL) followed by sham castration (25); (3) lidocaine (20 mg/kg or 1.5 mL) IG followed by surgical castration (24); (4) lidocaine (20 mg/kg or 1.5 mL) IG followed by sham castration (25); (5) FM (2.2 mg/kg) IN followed by surgical castration (25); (6) FM (2.2 mg/kg) IN followed by sham castration (24); (7) lidocaine (20 mg/kg or 1.5 mL) IG and FM (2.2 mg/kg) IN followed by surgical castration (24); and (8) lidocaine (20 mg/kg or 1.5 mL) IG and FM (2.2 mg/kg) IN followed by sham castration (24). RESULTS: Prostaglandin E2 concentrations did not increase following the castration procedure and were not an effective biomarker of castration inflammation. Piglets that received lidocaine demonstrated no difference in PGE2 levels across all time points. Piglets administered FM had lower PGE2 concentrations at 1 hour and 20 minutes postdrug administration in both the sham and castrated piglets. CONCLUSIONS: Prostaglandin E2 was not an effective biomarker to quantify castration inflammation. Flunixin meglumine was able to reduce PGE2 concentration in piglets regardless of castration procedure, but lidocaine had no impact. Decreased PGE2 levels in FM-treated pigs are likely associated with the drug's ability to mitigate a noncastration-associated inflammatory process occurring independent of the castration procedure. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Flunixin meglumine reduced circulating PGE2 concentration in the blood, regardless of the castration procedure, indicating a potential for the drug to mitigate an inflammatory process unrelated to castration.
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Bovine pain assessment relies on validated behavioral scales related to normal and pain-related behaviors. This study investigated the reliability and applicability of real-time and video-recorded pain assessment, and their agreement, in young, adult bulls undergoing surgical castration. Ten Nelore and nine Angus bulls underwent general anesthesia and surgical castration. Three-minute real-time observations and simultaneous videos were recorded at - 48 h (M0), before sedation, under fasting (M1), after surgery, 3 h after sternal recumbency (M2), after rescue analgesia (M3) and at 24 h (M4). Animals received morphine (after M2), dipyrone (after M3), and flunixin meglumine after surgical castration (M4). Two trained evaluators assessed real-time (n = 95) and video-recorded time-points (n = 95) using the Unesp-Botucatu Cattle Pain Scale (UCAPS). Both assessment methods inferred 'very good' reliability (≥ 0.81) with minimal bias, however, video-recorded assessment (4.33 ± 2.84) demonstrated slightly higher scores compared to real-time (3.08 ± 2.84). The results from this study suggest that UCAPS can be used in real-time or video-recorded to assess pain and guide analgesic therapy in cattle.
Assuntos
Orquiectomia , Medição da Dor , Gravação em Vídeo , Animais , Masculino , Bovinos , Medição da Dor/métodos , Medição da Dor/veterinária , Orquiectomia/veterinária , Orquiectomia/efeitos adversos , Reprodutibilidade dos Testes , Clonixina/análogos & derivados , Clonixina/uso terapêutico , Dor/veterinária , Morfina/uso terapêutico , Dipirona/uso terapêutico , Dor Pós-Operatória/veterinária , Dor Pós-Operatória/tratamento farmacológico , Dor Pós-Operatória/diagnósticoRESUMO
We aimed to compare two assessment methodologies (real-time vs. video-recorded) using the Unesp-Botucatu Pig Composite Acute Pain Scale (UPAPS) in piglets before and after castration. Twenty-nine male piglets were castrated. Four observers scored the UPAPS over three perioperative timepoints of castration following two assessment methodologies. In real-time assessments, the observers were in-person observing the piglets in front of the pen. After two weeks, the observers did video-recorded assessments randomizing piglets and timepoints. Modeling was conducted to compare the UPAPS and each pain-altered behavior between methodologies. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), Bland-Altman, and Lin's concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) were conducted to investigate agreement between methodologies. UPAPS was statistically equivalent between methodologies (P = 0.4371). The ICC for each method was very good (0.85 to 0.91). The agreement of the UPAPS assessed between methodologies had minimal bias (- 0.04), no proportion bias, and 53% of the assessments presented a perfect agreement. However, CCC of the UPAPS was moderate (0.65), and only one pain-altered behavior ("presents difficulty in overcoming obstacles or other animals") occurred more in real-time assessments (P = 0.0444). In conclusion, piglet pain assessment by UPAPS can be conducted in real-time based on a suitable agreement between the real-time and video-recorded assessment methods.
Assuntos
Orquiectomia , Dor , Humanos , Animais , Masculino , Suínos , Medição da Dor/métodos , Dor/diagnóstico , Dor/veterinária , Orquiectomia/veterinária , Orquiectomia/métodosRESUMO
Managing castration pain on US sow farms is hindered by the lack of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved products for mitigating pain. Previous work assessing flunixin meglumine (FM) efficacy in mitigating castration pain has shown the drug to be effective in pigs, meanwhile, results from previous work evaluating lidocaine efficacy are contradictory. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to determine the efficacy of inguinal buffered lidocaine (BL) and FM in mitigating castration pain in piglets. This study was divided into Part I (physiological response) and Part II (behavioral response). For part I piglets were randomly assigned to the following treatments: T1: (C) Castration plus physiological saline; T2: (S) Sham plus physiological saline; T3: (CL) Castration plus BL; T4: (SL) Sham plus BL; T5: (CF) Castration plus FM; T6: (SF) Sham plus FM; T7: (CLF) Castration plus BL and FM; T8: (SLF) Sham plus BL and FM. Blood was collected 24â h prior to castration, 1â h, and 24â h post castration for cortisol quantification. For Part II another cohort of piglets was enrolled and randomly assign to the following treatments: T1: (C) Castration plus physiological saline and T7: (CLF) Castration plus BL and FM. Behavior scoring was obtained in real-time by observing each piglet for 4-min continuously using Unesp-Botucatu pig acute pain scale (UPAPS) at the following timepoints: 1â h before castration (-1â h), immediately post-castration (0â h), and 3â h post-castration (+3â h). Average cortisol concentrations did not differ at -24â h (P > 0.05) or at 24â h post-castration (P > 0.05) between treatments. At 1â h post-castration, castrated piglets (C and CL) demonstrated greater cortisol concentrations (P < 0.05). Castrated piglets in the CF and CLF group had lower cortisol concentrations compared to C and CL-treated pigs (P < 0.05). For behavioral response, there were no differences between treatments on total UPAPS scores (C and CLF, P > 0.05). Intranasal FM was able to effectively reduce the physiological piglet's response immediately post-castration. Inguinal buffered lidocaine had no effect on the either physiological or behavioral response to pain. Long-term research should focus on refining injection techniques for inguinal BL and consider administration frequency and dosing of intranasal FM to control pain for a longer period post-castration.
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This study described the development of an interactive euthanasia training program and its potential to improve dairy workers' perceived euthanasia decision-making skills and awareness of timely euthanasia by using a survey instrument before and after the program. Training material encompassed euthanasia information over 2 production stages (calves and cows or heifers) and material was delivered on-farm in a case-scenario format (14 cases). During a 3-mo period, 30 different dairy farms were visited and 81 participants were enrolled in this study. Each participant was required to complete a survey pretraining, to complete the case studies from the production stage in which their job responsibility was more closely aligned with (estimated completion time of 1 h), and to complete a survey post-training. Surveys contained 8 statements regarding participants' perceived knowledge of euthanasia practices. The questions were answered on a 5-point scale: (1) strongly disagree, (2) disagree, (3) neither agree nor disagree, (4) agree, or (5) strongly agree. Multivariable mixed-effects logistic regression models were created for each question to investigate the effect of age, sex, dairy experience, farm size, role at the farm, race, previous experience with euthanasia, veterinarian degree, and production stage in the score change, defined by the presence or absence of an increase in the 5-point scale score. Upon completion of the training, respondents were more confident in identifying compromised animals (score change = 0.35), determining when an animal should be euthanized (score change = 0.64), and understanding the importance of timely euthanasia (score change = 0.26). Age and euthanasia experience were significantly associated with the respondents' perceived knowledge; suggesting that younger, less-experienced caretakers on-farm should be prioritized to receive training. The proposed interactive case-based euthanasia training program has proven to be valuable to dairy participants and veterinarians as it provides a means to improve dairy welfare.
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Doenças dos Bovinos , Eutanásia , Humanos , Animais , Bovinos , Feminino , Indústria de Laticínios , Fazendas , Inquéritos e QuestionáriosRESUMO
Implementing timely and humane euthanasia in dairy farms remains a critical concern. One of the possible barriers for the implementation of timely euthanasia on-farm is dairy workers' attitudes toward the act. The objectives of this study were to investigate dairy workers' attitudes toward dairy cattle euthanasia and their association to individuals' demographic characteristics. A total of 81 workers from 30 dairy farms (ranging in size from less than 500 to more than 3,000 cows) participated in the survey and most participants were caretakers (n = 45; 55.6%) or farm managers (n = 16; 19.8%), with an average work experience of 14.8 years. Dairy workers' attitudes toward dairy cattle (empathy affect, empathy attribution, and negative attitudes about cattle), working environment (relying on others, perceived time constraints) and euthanasia decision-making (feeling comfortable with euthanasia, feeling confident, seeking knowledge, using different sources to obtain advice, having negative attitudes about euthanasia, having insufficient knowledge, having trouble deciding when to euthanize and avoiding if possible) were identified and used for cluster analyses. Cluster analyses identified 3 distinct clusters: (1) confident but uncomfortable with euthanasia (n = 40); (2) confident and comfortable with euthanasia (n = 32); and (3) unconfident, lacking knowledge and detached from cattle (n = 9). Dairy workers' demographic characteristics (age, sex, race and ethnicity, dairy experience, role on-farm, farm size, and previous euthanasia experience) were used as predictors for the risk factor analyses. The risk analysis demonstrated that there were no predictors for cluster 1, but White workers (P = 0.04) and caretakers that had previous euthanasia experience tended to be more likely to be members of cluster 2 (P = 0.07) whereas respondents that worked in farms with 501-1,000 cows were more likely to be grouped in cluster 3. This study provides vital information about variability in dairy workers' attitudes toward dairy euthanasia as well as its association with race and ethnicity, farm size, and previous euthanasia experience. This information can be used to implement appropriate training and euthanasia protocols to increase both human and dairy cattle welfare on-farm.
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Indústria de Laticínios , Eutanásia , Feminino , Humanos , Bovinos , Animais , Indústria de Laticínios/métodos , Atitude , Fazendas , EmoçõesRESUMO
Castration is a painful procedure performed in swine and to date, there are no approved products available in the US to alleviate this pain. Previous work evaluating the efficacy of flunixin meglumine has shown promise in mitigating pain in swine, but no work to date has evaluated transdermal flunixin efficacy in mitigating castration pain in piglets. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of transdermal flunixin (TDF) in mitigating castration pain utilizing a previously validated behavioral pain scale. A total of 98 Large White x Duroc cross male piglets from 98 litters were enrolled in this study. Piglets were randomly assigned to the following treatments: (1) TDF plus castration (3.33â mg/kg; CF; n = 24), (2) TDF plus sham castration (3.33â mg/kg; SF; n = 26), (3) topical physiological saline plus sham castration (S; n = 24), or (4) topical physiological saline plus castration (C; n = 24). All treatments were administered 24â h prior to castration. Four-min continuous videos clips were collected 24â h before castration (-24â h), immediately post-castration (0â h), and 24â h post-castration (+24â h). Video clips were then observed and scored by one trained observer using a 4-point pain scale (score 0-3) encompassing the five behavioral domains of the pig acute pain scale (UPAPS). Total pain score averages were analyzed as repeated measures by analysis of variance applying a multilevel model. The UPAPS effectively distinguished varying levels of painful and non-painful states in castrated piglets as observed via deviations in total pain scores across timepoints (P < 0.0001), treatment (P < 0.001) and treatment*timepoint (P < 0.0001). Immediately post-castration (0â h), piglets in the C and CF group demonstrated greater total average pain scores than piglets in the S (P < 0.03) and SF (P < 0.01) groups and castrated piglets treated with TDF demonstrated lower total pain scores (P < 0.05) and required less analgesic intervention immediately post-castration compared to castrated piglets receiving no treatment (P < 0.0001). For C group 54% required rescue analgesia compared to 29%, 8% and 0% for CF, SF and S piglets respectively. Future work should evaluate implementation of this pain management protocol on a wide scale commercial farm setting.
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OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of transdermal flunixin administration on serum prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and cortisol concentrations in piglets undergoing castration. ANIMALS: 104 litters with at least 4 male piglets/litter. PROCEDURES: Litters were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatments: transdermal flunixin (3.33 mg/kg) administration followed by surgical castration (CF; n = 28), transdermal flunixin administration followed by sham castration (SF; n = 26), application of physiologic saline solution followed by sham castration (S; n = 26), and application of physiologic saline solution followed by surgical castration (C; n = 24). Blood samples were collected 24 hours before and 1, 4, and 25 hours after castration or sham castration. RESULTS: Serum PGE2 concentrations for piglets in the C and CF groups did not differ at any time. Piglets in the S group tended to have higher serum PGE2 concentrations 1 hour after sham castration compared with piglets in the SF group. One hour after the procedure, piglets that underwent castration had higher serum cortisol concentrations than did piglets that underwent sham castration. Piglets in the CF group had higher serum cortisol concentrations than did piglets in the SF group 4 hours after the procedure, but serum cortisol concentrations did not differ between the C and S groups. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Further studies are needed to explore dosing regimens, including effective doses and administration frequencies, and the pharmacokinetics of flunixin following transdermal administration in piglets undergoing castration.