title: Attitude of Brazilian veterinarians in the recognition and treatment of pain in horses and cattle.
abstract: 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.
  
  
  METHODS
  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
  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.
authors: Department of Veterinary Surgery and Anaesthesiology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, UNESP - Univ Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, Brazil.
authors: Sílvia E R S
authors: SE
authors: Lorena
authors: Stélio P L
authors: SP
authors: Luna
authors: B Duncan X
authors: BD
authors: Lascelles
authors: José E
authors: JE
authors: Corrente
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000827:Animal Welfare; D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006736:Horses; D006801:Humans; D019359:Knowledge; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000662:veterinary*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D018634:Veterinarians / Q000592:standards*
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics