Every IACUC knows Dr. Hal Hendricks. He's the researcher who tries to push the interpretation of federal regulations to the extreme, and always in his favor. He's the one who argues with the IACUC about issues that are almost meaningless to the ultimate conduct of research but can nevertheless be argued. And so it was this Friday, at the monthly meeting of the Great Eastern University IACUC. Hendricks was obsessed with the idea that a USDA Category E study (pain or distress unalleviated by drugs) would somehow make him a target of the Great Eastern IACUC and every animal rights group in the US. Therefore, he insisted that all animals in his guinea pig surgery study be considered Category D, as originally approved by the IACUC, even though some of the animals had experienced a few hours of unalleviated pain. The fault, as perceived by Hendricks, was with the school's veterinarian and the IACUC, because, he said, he had followed every detail of his approved protocol.

As told by Hendricks and confirmed by the veterinarian, he used the anesthetic and analgesic drugs and dosages recommended by the veterinarian and approved by the IACUC. The surgery was done in his laboratory by trained technicians, and postoperative drug use and clinical observations were dutifully recorded. However, the technicians did not promptly notify the veterinarian that the analgesic drug dosage did not sufficiently alleviate the postoperative pain. When the veterinarian was finally called, he quickly administered additional analgesics and told the technicians that Hendricks should notify the IACUC that the drug dose was being increased for all future surgeries under the protocol. There were no further problems after the adjustment was made.

“So what's the problem?” asked Larry Covelli, the IACUC chairman. “The problem,” said Hendricks, “is that I did everything exactly as on my protocol, and now I'm being told that the first animals operated on have to be in Category E because they had pain for a few hours. I read the same Animal Welfare Act regulations you have. They say that if I use the appropriate drugs to treat pain, then the animals belong in Category D. And that's what I did. I didn't see anything that says there has to be 100% freedom from pain. In fact, I didn't see anything that even said the pain has to be alleviated. I did what I was told to do, and now I'm being punished for your mistakes. I want those animals in Category D.” Covelli tried, but he could not convince Hendricks that Category E was not the catastrophe that Hendricks believed it to be.

Does Hendricks have a valid point, or is he just making a nitpicking argument? How do you think this issue should be resolved?

Response to Protocol Review Scenario: Gap between D and E

Response to Protocol Review Scenario: To 'E' or not to 'E'

Response to Protocol Review Scenario: Show me the regulation

Response to Protocol Review Scenario: A word from OLAW and USDA