title: Refinement and partial validation of the UNESP-Botucatu multidimensional composite pain scale for assessing postoperative pain in horses.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Quantification of pain plays a vital role in the diagnosis and management of pain in animals. In order to refine and validate an acute pain scale for horses a prospective, randomized, blinded study was conducted. Twenty-four client owned adult horses were recruited and allocated to one of four following groups: anaesthesia only (GA); pre-emptive analgesia and anaesthesia (GAA,); anaesthesia, castration and postoperative analgesia (GC); or pre-emptive analgesia, anaesthesia and castration (GCA). One investigator, unaware of the treatment group, assessed all horses at time-points before and after intervention and completed the pain scale. Videos were also obtained at these time-points and were evaluated by a further four blinded evaluators who also completed the scale. The data were used to investigate the relevance, specificity, criterion validity and inter- and intra-observer reliability of each item on the pain scale, and to evaluate construct validity and responsiveness of the scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Construct validity was demonstrated by the observed differences in scores between the groups, four hours after anaesthetic recovery and before administration of systemic analgesia in the GC group. Inter- and intra-observer reliability for the items was only satisfactory. Subsequently the pain scale was refined, based on results for relevance, specificity and total item correlation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Scale refinement and exclusion of items that did not meet predefined requirements generated a selection of relevant pain behaviours in horses. After further validation for reliability, these may be used to evaluate pain under clinical and experimental conditions.
authors.affiliation: Veterinary Medicine Department, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Estrada da Paca s/n, Umuarama, Brazil. mtafarel@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: Marilda Onghero
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Taffarel
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Surgery and Anesthesiology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, UNESP - Univ Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, SP, 18618970, Brazil. stelio@fmvz.unesp.br.
authors.forename: Stelio Pacca Loureiro
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Luna
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Surgery and Anesthesiology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, UNESP - Univ Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, SP, 18618970, Brazil. flacap1701@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Flavia Augusta
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Surgery and Anesthesiology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, UNESP - Univ Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, SP, 18618970, Brazil. vetschiess@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Guilherme Schiess
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Cardoso
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Surgery and Anesthesiology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, UNESP - Univ Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, SP, 18618970, Brazil. jumandril@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Juliana de Moura
authors.initials: Jde M
authors.lastname: Alonso
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Surgery and Anesthesiology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, UNESP - Univ Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, SP, 18618970, Brazil. pntoja@fmvz.unesp.br.
authors.forename: Jose Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Pantoja
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Surgery and Anesthesiology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, UNESP - Univ Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, SP, 18618970, Brazil. jtbrondani@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Juliana Tabarelli
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Brondani
authors.affiliation: School of Veterinary Science, Langford House, Langford, UK. Emma.Love@bristol.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Love
authors.affiliation: Taylor Monroe, Ely, Cambridgeshire, UK. polly@taylormonroe.co.uk.
authors.forename: Polly
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK. Kate.White@nottingham.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: School of Veterinary Science, Langford House, Langford, UK. lvjcm@bristol.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Joanna C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Murrell
mesh_terms: D000698:Analgesia / Q000662:veterinary; D000758:Anesthesia / Q000662:veterinary; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006734:Horse Diseases; D006736:Horses; D008297:Male; D009919:Orchiectomy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000662:veterinary; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*