title: Pain assessment in cats undergoing ovariohysterectomy by midline or lateral celiotomy through use of a previously validated multidimensional composite pain scale.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess pain in the immediate postoperative period in cats submitted into two different celiotomy techniques for ovariohysterectomy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fourteen healthy female cats up to three years old with a mean weight 2.75 kg, without breed specification, were used in this double blind experiment. The animals were randomly assigned to two treatments: I- ovariohysterectomy by lateral approach (LA) or II - by midline approach (MA). The anesthesia consisted of acepromazine (0.1 mg.kg-1) and midazolam (0.25mg.kg-1) followed isoflurane vaporization to induce and maintain hypnosis. A bolus of fentanyl (5 μg.kg-1) was administered intravenously to provide intraoperative analgesia. After surgery, pain scores were assessed through a multidimensional composite pain scale at four different times.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Generally all factors related to psychomotor changes and pain expression showed higher scores in cats neutered by LA, but only psychomotor changes and total pain score presented statistical differences (p<0.05). The animals that underwent lateral celiotomy showed higher pain scores, at 1, 4 and 6 hours after surgery.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Multidimensional analgesic scales were highly reliable. There was a tendency for the cats neutered by lateral approach to suffer more postoperative pain, including requiring a large number of analgesic rescues.
authors.affiliation: CEUA, UNIFESO, Teresopolis, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Jéssica Pecene
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Surgery and Anesthesiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Valenca Higher Education Center, Valenca, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rodrigo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mencalha
authors.affiliation: School of Biology, Animal Anatomy Area, Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, Seropedica, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Carlos Augusto dos Santos
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Sousa
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine, UFRRJ, Seropedica, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcelo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abidu-Figueiredo
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Clinic and Surgery, School of Veterinary Medicine, UNIFESO, Teresopolis, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Síria da Fonseca
authors.initials: Sda F
authors.lastname: Jorge
mesh_terms: D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D005260:Female; D007044:Hysterectomy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000662:veterinary*; D007813:Laparotomy / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary; D010052:Ovariectomy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000662:veterinary*; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000662:veterinary*; D011897:Random Allocation; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics