Vitamin D status in chimpanzees in human care: a Europe wide study.

While vitamin D deficiency is a public health concern in humans, comparatively little is known about vitamin D levels in non-human primates. Vitamin D plays a crucial role in overall health and its deficiency is associated with a range of disorders, including cardiovascular disease, which is a leading cause of death in great apes. Serum samples (n = 245) from chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) housed at 32 European zoos were measured for 25-hydroxyvitamin D2, 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 and total 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) using liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. Of these samples, 33.1% indicated inadequate vitamin D status, using the human reference interval (25-OHD < 50 nmol/L). The season of the year, health status of the animal, and the provision of daily outdoor access had a significant effect on vitamin D status. This is the first large-scale study on vitamin D status of non-human great apes in human care. Inadequate 25-OHD serum concentrations are widespread in the chimpanzee population in Europe and could be a risk factor for the development of idiopathic myocardial fibrosis, a major cause of mortality in this species, as well as other diseases. A review of husbandry and nutrition practices is recommended to ensure optimal vitamin D supply for these endangered animals.

Refinement and partial validation of the UNESP-Botucatu multidimensional composite pain scale for assessing postoperative pain in horses.

BACKGROUND: Quantification of pain plays a vital role in the diagnosis and management of pain in animals. In order to refine and validate an acute pain scale for horses a prospective, randomized, blinded study was conducted. Twenty-four client owned adult horses were recruited and allocated to one of four following groups: anaesthesia only (GA); pre-emptive analgesia and anaesthesia (GAA,); anaesthesia, castration and postoperative analgesia (GC); or pre-emptive analgesia, anaesthesia and castration (GCA). One investigator, unaware of the treatment group, assessed all horses at time-points before and after intervention and completed the pain scale. Videos were also obtained at these time-points and were evaluated by a further four blinded evaluators who also completed the scale. The data were used to investigate the relevance, specificity, criterion validity and inter- and intra-observer reliability of each item on the pain scale, and to evaluate construct validity and responsiveness of the scale. RESULTS: Construct validity was demonstrated by the observed differences in scores between the groups, four hours after anaesthetic recovery and before administration of systemic analgesia in the GC group. Inter- and intra-observer reliability for the items was only satisfactory. Subsequently the pain scale was refined, based on results for relevance, specificity and total item correlation. CONCLUSIONS: Scale refinement and exclusion of items that did not meet predefined requirements generated a selection of relevant pain behaviours in horses. After further validation for reliability, these may be used to evaluate pain under clinical and experimental conditions.