Performance and Meat Quality of Broiler Chickens Reared on two Different Litter Materials and at two Stocking Densities.

1. This study evaluated the performance and meat quality of broiler chickens reared on two litter materials and at two stocking densities.2. The chicks were allotted in a completely randomised design in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement with two litter materials (wood shavings or rice straw) and two stocking densities (24 or 30 kg/m2), with six replicates per treatment. Broiler performance, carcase yield, prime cuts, blood plasma proteins, the enzymes alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase, edible viscera, immune organs, intestine weight and length, abdominal fat, breast meat colour, pH, weight loss by defrosting, weight loss by cooking and shear force were evaluated.3. The density of 24 kg/m2 positively influenced feed consumption and weight gain. The type of litter had a positive influence on feed conversion, with a lower value for birds raised on wood shavings.4. Breast production was improved in birds reared at a density of 24 kg/m2 when compared to birds reared at a density of 30 kg/m2. The rice straw bedding negatively affected abdominal fat (resulting in higher percentages) when compared to birds reared on wood shavings.5. The types of litter affected the enzyme aspartate aminotransferase in birds raised on wood shavings, although these values were not increased to the point of influence on the physiological functions of broilers.6. The colour of the breast meat, pH, temperature, weight loss after thawing or cooking, shear force, cholesterol, triglycerides, albumin, total proteins, glucose or alanine aminotransferase content were not influenced by the stocking densities or bedding.7. The use of wood shavings as poultry bedding at a stocking density of 24 kg/m2resulted in the best performance for broiler chickens at 42 days of age.

Opioids for the management of breakthrough (episodic) pain in cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Breakthrough pain is a transient increase in pain intensity over background pain. It is a common and distinct component of cancer pain that can have a negative impact for both the patient and carers' quality of life. Breakthrough pain is usually related to background pain and is typically of rapid onset, severe in intensity, and generally self-limiting with an average duration of 30 minutes. At present the current approach to managing breakthrough pain is using supplemental analgesia (also known as rescue medication) at a dose proportional to the total around-the-clock (ATC) opioid dose. OBJECTIVES: This review explores and assesses the evidence for the use of opioids in the management of breakthrough pain in patients with cancer. SEARCH STRATEGY: MEDLINE (1966 to 2005), EMBASE (1980 to 2005), CancerLit (1993 to 2005), CINAHL (1982 to 2005) and Cochrane databases were searched. Handsearching of medical journals and reference from key textbooks was undertaken and drug companies contacted for unpublished data. There was no language restriction. Date of most recent search: January 2005. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomized controlled trials of opioids used as rescue medication against active or placebo comparator in patients with cancer pain were included. Outcome measures sought were reduction in pain intensity measured by an appropriate scale, adverse effects, attrition, patient satisfaction and quality of life. There were no language restrictions. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Eligible studies were selected and examined independently by the two reviewers. Full text was retrieved if any uncertainty about eligibility remained. Non-English texts were screened. Quality assessment and data extraction were conducted using standardised data forms. Drug and placebo dose, titration, route and formulation were compared and detail of all outcome measures (if available) recorded. MAIN RESULTS: Four studies (393 participants) met the inclusion criteria, all were concerned with the use of oral transmucosal fentanyl citrate (OTFC) in the management of breakthrough pain. Two studies examined the titration of OTFC, one study compared OTFC to normal release morphine and one study compared OTFC to placebo.OTFC was shown to be an effective treatment for breakthrough pain. When compared to placebo and morphine, participants gave lower pain intensity scores and higher pain relief scores for OTFC at all time points. Global assessment scores also favoured OTFC. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: There is evidence that OTFC is an effective treatment in the management of breakthrough pain. The randomised trial literature for the management of breakthrough pain is small and no trials were found for other opioids. Given the importance of this subject, more trials need to be undertaken.