title: 2015 AAHA/AAFP Pain Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats.
abstract: The robust advances in pain management for companion animals underlie the decision of AAHA and AAFP to expand on the information provided in the 2007 AAHA/AAFP Pain Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats . The 2015 guidelines summarize and offer a discriminating review of much of this new knowledge. Pain management is central to veterinary practice, alleviating pain, improving patient outcomes, and enhancing both quality of life and the veterinarian-client-patient relationship. The management of pain requires a continuum of care that includes anticipation, early intervention, and evaluation of response on an individual-patient basis. The guidelines include both pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic modalities to manage pain; they are evidence-based insofar as possible and otherwise represent a consensus of expert opinion. Behavioral changes are currently the principal indicator of pain and its course of improvement or progression, and the basis for recently validated pain scores. A team-oriented approach, including the owner, is essential for maximizing the recognition, prevention, and treatment of pain in animals. Postsurgical pain is eminently predictable but a strong body of evidence exists supporting strategies to mitigate adaptive as well as maladaptive forms. Degenerative joint disease is one of the most significant and under-diagnosed diseases of cats and dogs. Degenerative joint disease is ubiquitous, found in pets of all ages, and inevitably progresses over time; evidence-based strategies for management are established in dogs, and emerging in cats. These guidelines support veterinarians in incorporating pain management into practice, improving patient care.
authors.affiliation: From the Total Bond Veterinary Hospitals PC, Gastonia, NC (M.E.); Cat Care Clinic and Feline-Friendly Consultations, Madison, WI (I.R.); Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Colorado State University School of Veterinary Medicine, Fort Collins, CO (G.G.); Pet Crossing Animal Hospital & Dental Clinic, Bloomington, MN (J.K.); Arbor Pointe Veterinary Hospital/Animal Pain Center, Canton, M.I. (M.P.); Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI (S.R.); and Morrisville Cat Hospital, Morrisville, NC (W.S.).
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Epstein
authors.forename: Ilona
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rodan
authors.forename: Gregg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Griffenhagen
authors.forename: Jamie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kadrlik
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Petty
authors.forename: Sheilah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Simpson
mesh_terms: D015670:Acupuncture Therapy / Q000662:veterinary; D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D002415:Cats; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D004285:Dogs; D006762:Hospitals, Animal / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards; D010146:Pain / Q000662:veterinary*; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000662:veterinary; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic / Q000592:standards*; D012958:Societies, Scientific / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards; D014481:United States; D014730:Veterinary Medicine / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics