The Use of Analgesics in Birds, Reptiles, and Small Exotic Mammals

doi:10.1053/j.jepm.2006.06.004

Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine

Volume 15, Issue 3, July 2006, Pages 177-192

https://doi.org/10.1053/j.jepm.2006.06.004 Get rights and content

Abstract

Exotic animal veterinarians have been prescribing analgesics for their patients for many years, but recently the recognition and alleviation of pain in these patients have become widely recognized as an essential component of clinical veterinary care. Misconceptions about the nature and significance of pain, difficulties in recognizing its severity, uncertainty as to the most appropriate therapies in clinical settings, and a fundamental lack of scientific data in exotic animals have hampered our understanding of pain management in these patients. To manage pain effectively in exotic animal patients, we must first be able to define and recognize pain in these animals. This article addresses some of these obstacles by discussing current knowledge concerning the recognition and management of pain in common pet exotic animal patients and by providing information regarding analgesic medications determined in other species, with the hopes of applying these fundamental understandings to our exotic animal patients.

Section snippets

How Do We Recognize Pain in Exotic Animal Patients?

Recognition of pain in exotic animal patients is critical for providing timely analgesic selection and pain relief. Pain evaluation is subjective even in humans, because identical injuries will often demonstrate different intensities and qualities of pain among individuals verbal statements. Human pain is often assessed by the individual’s verbal statements, whereas in animals, pain evaluation is based on observed behaviors. In animals, pain is what humans say it is, and there is obviously

How Do We Evaluate the Efficacy of Analgesics in Exotic Animals?

If it is difficult to define and recognize whether an animal feels pain; it can be even more difficult to objectively determine whether a pain medication is effective in exotic animals. In general, to determine the efficacy of drugs in any species, it is important to determine the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of the drug in that species. Pharmacokinetics of analgesics are often not enough to help determine appropriate doses and dosing frequencies, because plasma levels of

Preemptive Analgesia

Recent evidence suggests that surgical incision and other painful procedures in humans may induce prolonged central nervous system (CNS) changes that later contribute to postoperative pain, and that this noxious stimulus-induced sensitization can be prevented or “preempted” by administration of analgesic agents before tissue injury.41, 42 This concept is being applied clinically with increasing frequency in both human and small animal medicine. Preemptive analgesia with opiates, NSAIDS, or

Balanced or Multimodal Analgesia

Combinations of drugs acting at different points in the nociceptive system provide a greater effect than individual drugs. By acting at different points in the pain cascade, the combination of medications may be more effective and less toxic than either drug given alone. For example, opioids generally act centrally to limit the input of nociceptive information into the CNS, whereas NSAIDs generally act peripherally to decrease inflammation, thus limiting the nociceptive information that

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Citation Excerpt :
Therefore, the provision of effective and timely analgesic treatment is paramount. Currently, reptilian dosing is extrapolated from dosing in both closely-related and distantly-related animal species (Hawkins, 2006). However, methods for safe dose extrapolation have not been developed, and the presence of inter- and intra-species variability in physiology, and hence drug disposition (O'Malley, 2005, 2017), makes accurate dose extrapolation challenging.
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Topics in medicine and surgeryThe Use of Analgesics in Birds, Reptiles, and Small Exotic Mammals

Abstract

Section snippets

How Do We Recognize Pain in Exotic Animal Patients?

How Do We Evaluate the Efficacy of Analgesics in Exotic Animals?

Preemptive Analgesia

Balanced or Multimodal Analgesia

Life Sci

Pain

Res Vet

Res Vet Sci

Comp Biochem Physiol C Toxicol Pharmacol

Eur J Pain

Res Vet Sci

Res Vet Sci

Brain Res

Pharmacol Biochem Behav

Pain

Brain Res

Pain

Lancet

Pain

Vet Clin North Am Exot Anim Pract

Sem Av Exotic Pet Med

Vet Clin North Am Exot Anim Pract

Sem Av Exotic Pet Med

Trends Neurosci

Pharmacol Biochem Behav

Neuroscience

Pharmacol Biochem Behav

Vet Anaesth Analg

Drug Alcohol Depend

Brain

Eur J Pharmacol

J Assoc Vet Anaesth

Vet Clin North Am Exot Anim Pract

The neurobehavioral nature of fishes and the question of awareness and pain

Rev Fish Sci

The distribution of enkephalinlike immunoreactivity in the telencephalon of the adult and developing domestic chicken

J Comp Neuro

Large dorsal horn neurons which receive inputs from numerous substance P-like immunoreactive axon terminals in the laminae I and II of the chicken spinal cord

Neurosci Res

Analgesic potency of alpha adrenergic agents after systemic administration in amphibians

J Pharmacol Exp Ther

Morphine and pethidine antinociception in the crocodile

J Vet Pharmacol Ther

Nociception in crocodiles: capsaicin instillation, formalin and hot plate tests

Zool Sci

Thermal, mechanical and chemical peripheral sensation in amphibians: opioid and adrenergic effects

Life Sci

Survey of perioperative analgesic use in small animals

Vet Rec

Current British veterinary attitudes to perioperative analgesia for cats and small mammals

Vet Rec

Current British veterinary attitudes to perioperative analgesia for dogs

Vet Rec

Evaluation of the use of anesthesia and analgesia in reptiles

J Am Vet Med Assoc

Stress measurements in mice after transportation

Lab Anim

Avian analgesia

Stress and adrenal function

J Exp Zool

Serum corticosterone concentrations in response to restraint, anesthesia, and skin testing in Hispaniolan Amazon parrots (Amazona ventralis)

J Avian Med Surg

Fecal corticosterone reflects serum corticosterone in Florida sandhill cranes

J Wildl Dis

Pharmacokinetics of ketoprofen in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica)

J Vet Pharmacol Ther

Pharmacokinetic properties of a single intramuscular dose of buprenorphine in African Grey Parrots (Psittacus erithacus erithacus)

J Avian Med Surg

Pharmacokinetics of butorphanol tartrate in rabbits

Am J Vet Res

Disposition and analgesic effects of fentanyl in white cockatoos (Cacatua alba)

J Avian Med Surg

Topics in medicine and surgery
The Use of Analgesics in Birds, Reptiles, and Small Exotic Mammals