Post-operative pain behaviour associated with surgical castration in donkeys (Equus asinus).

ABSTRACT:

Background

Recognising pain in donkeys is challenging because they are stoic.

Objectives

To identify the responses of donkeys before and after surgical pain.

Study design

Prospective, short-term longitudinal pre- and post-intervention observations.

Methods

Forty adult donkeys underwent surgical castration after sedation with intravenous (IV) xylazine, induction with guaiphenesin/thiopental IV and maintenance of anaesthesia with isoflurane and local anaesthetic blockade. Four hours after recovery from anaesthesia, flunixin meglumine 1.1 mg/kg, dipyrone 10 mg/kg and morphine 0.2 mg/kg IV were administered. Behavioural responses exhibited by the animals housed in individual stalls were recorded in four 30-min videos: before castration (M0), and 3.5-4.0 hours (M1),

SUBMITTER: de Oliveira MGC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7891375 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature