Current attitudes regarding the use of perioperative analgesics in dogs and cats by Brazilian veterinarians.

OBJECTIVE: To correlate the demographic data of Brazilian veterinarians with their use of, attitudes towards, knowledge of and preference for continuing education regarding use of analgesics in small animal practice. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective survey. METHODS: The questionnaire was composed of sections pertaining to demographics, personal data, use of analgesics in general and specific procedures, analgesia used, and attitudes towards the assessment and relief of pain. The descriptive statistics with frequency analysis was performed using sas for Windows 9.1.3. Chi-square for simple comparisons test was used. RESULTS: Questionnaires were obtained from 1298 small animal veterinarians. Women and younger graduates attributed higher pain scores than men and older graduates but the frequency and duration of analgesic treatment did not differ between genders. The most commonly used opioids were tramadol (79%) and morphine (51%). NSAIDs of choice were meloxicam (81%) and ketoprofen (70%). Cats received lower pain scores for laparotomy, orchiectomy and dental procedures than dogs. Practical experience (64%) and national (47%) and regional meetings (43%) were the main sources of information for identifying and treating pain in small animals. CONCLUSIONS: Although the number of Brazilian veterinarians believed that their knowledge in the area was lower than in other countries, the focus in pain management was similar or higher than in other countries, showing a good attitude in pain relief in animals.

Attitude of Brazilian veterinarians in the recognition and treatment of pain in horses and cattle.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess the use of analgesics, describe the attitudes of Brazilian veterinarians towards pain relief in horses and cattle and evaluate the differences due to gender, year of graduation and type of practice. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective survey. METHODS: Questionnaires were sent to 1000 large animal veterinarians by mail, internet and delivered in person during national meetings. The survey investigated the attitudes of Brazilian veterinarians to the recognition and treatment of pain in large animals and consisted of sections asking about demographic data, use of analgesic drugs, attitudes to pain relief and to the assessment of pain. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze frequencies. Simple post hoc comparisons were performed using the chi-square test. RESULTS: Eight hundred questionnaires were collected, but 87 were discarded because they were incomplete or blank. The opioid of choice for use in large animals was butorphanol (43.4%) followed by tramadol (39%). Flunixin (83.2%) and ketoprofen (67.6%) were the most frequently used NSAIDs by Brazilian veterinarians. Respondents indicated that horses received preoperative analgesics for laparotomy more frequently (72.9%) than cattle (58.5%). The most frequently administered preoperative drugs for laparotomy in horses were flunixin (38.4%) and xylazine (23.6%), whereas the preoperative drugs for the same surgical procedure in cattle were xylazine (31.8%) and the local administration of lidocaine (48%). Fracture repair was considered the most painful surgical procedure for both species. Most veterinarians (84.1%) believed that their knowledge in this area was not adequate. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Although these Brazilian veterinarians thought that their knowledge on recognition and treatment of pain was not adequate, the use of analgesic in large animals was similar in Brazil to that reported in other countries.