Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Opinion
  • Published:

A simple method for assessing analgesic requirements and efficacy in rodents

Lab Animal volume 38, pages 246–247 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

Evaluation of pain in the clinical setting is an ongoing challenge for veterinarians, researchers and IACUCs. Behavioral assessment, a common technique for evaluating pain, is subjective and difficult to translate into quantifiable data. The authors propose measuring changes in body weight, food consumption and water consumption as a simple and objective method for evaluating postsurgical pain and analgesic efficacy in rodents.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Liles, J.H. & Flecknell, P.A. The effects of surgical stimulus on the rat and the influence of analgesic treatment. Br. Vet. J. 149, 515–525 (1993).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Liles, J.H. & Flecknell, P.A. The influence of buprenorphine or bupivicaine on the post-operative effects of laparotomy and bile-duct ligation in rats. Lab. Anim. 27, 374–380 (1993).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Flecknell, P.A., Orr, H.E., Roughan, J.V. & Stewart, R. Comparison of the effects of oral or subcutaneous carprofen or ketoprofen in rats undergoing laparotomy. Vet. Rec. 144, 65–67 (1999).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Jablonski, P., Howden, B.O. & Baxter, K. Influence of buprenorphine analgesia on post-operative recovery in two strains of rats. Lab. Anim. 35, 213–222 (2000).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Lawson, D.M., Duke, J.L., Zammit, T.G., Collins, H.L. & Dicarlo, S.E. Recovery from carotid artery catheterization performed under various anesthetics in male, Sprague-Dawley rats. Contemp. Top. Lab. Anim. Sci. 40, 18–22 (2001).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Roughan, J.V. & Flecknell, P.A. Buprenorphine: a reappraisal of its antinociceptive effects and therapeutic use in alleviating post-operative pain in animals. Lab. Anim. 36, 322–343 (2002).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Sharp, J., Zammit, T., Azar, T. & Lawson, D. Recovery of male rats from major abdominal surgery after treatment with various analgesics. Contemp. Top. Lab. Anim. Sci. 42, 22–27 (2003).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Cooper, D.M., Hoffman, W., Wheat, N. & Lee, H. Duration of effects on clinical parameters and referred hyperalgesia in rats after abdominal surgery and multiple doses of analgesic. Comp. Med. 55, 344–353 (2005).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Cooper, D.M., Hoffman, W., Wheat, N. & Lee, H. Duration of clinical effects and absence of referred hyperalgesia after femoral vein cannulation in rats. Comp. Med. 55, 440–444 (2005).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Cooper, D.M., Hoffman, W., Tomlinson, K. & Lee, H. Refinement of the dosage and dosing schedule of ketoprofen for postoperative analgesia in Sprague-Dawley rats. Lab Anim. (NY) 37, 271–275 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Brennan, M.P., Sinusas, A.J., Horvath, T.L., Collins, J.G. & Harding, M.J. Correlation between body weight changes and postoperative pain in rats treated with meloxicam or buprenorphine. Lab Anim. (NY) 38, 87–93 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. National Research Council, Institute for Laboratory Animal Research. Recognition and Alleviation of Pain and Distress in Laboratory Animals 32–52 (National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 1992).

  13. Brennan, T.J. Postoperative models of nociception. ILAR J. 40, 129–136 (1999).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Ness, T.J. Models of visceral nociception. ILAR J. 40, 119–128 (1999).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Ren, K. & Dubner, R. Inflammatory models of pain and hyperalgesia. ILAR J. 40, 111–118 (1999).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Hayes, K.E., Raucci, J.A., Gades, N.M. & Toth, L.A. An evaluation of analgesic regimens for abdominal surgery in mice. Contemp. Top. Lab. Anim. Sci. 39, 18–23 (2000).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Roughan, J.V. & Flecknell, P.A. Behaviour-based assessment of the duration of laparotomy-induced abdominal pain and the analgesic effects of carprofen and buprenorphine in rats. Behav. Pharmacol. 15, 461–472 (2004).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Flecknell, P.A. The relief of pain in laboratory animals. Lab. Anim. 18, 147–160 (1984).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Covance Inc., Greenfield, IN

    Nathan J. Wheat

  2. Harlan Laboratories, Inc., Indianapolis, IN

    Dale M. Cooper

Authors
  1. Nathan J. Wheat
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Dale M. Cooper
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dale M. Cooper.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wheat, N., Cooper, D. A simple method for assessing analgesic requirements and efficacy in rodents. Lab Anim 38, 246–247 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/laban0709-246

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/laban0709-246

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing