A prospective multi-centre clinical trial to compare buprenorphine and butorphanol for postoperative analgesia in cats.

Polly M Taylor, Jonathan J Kirby, Clare Robinson, Elizabeth A Watkins, David D Clarke, Marion A Ford, Karen E Church

Taylor Monroe, Gravel Head Farm, Downham Common, Little Downham, Nr Ely, Cambs CB6 2TY, UK. polly@taylormonroe.co.uk

Journal of feline medicine and surgery 2010 Apr

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One hundred and fifty-three cats undergoing surgery in seven veterinary practices in Great Britain were studied. They were randomly allocated to receive either 10-20 microg/kg buprenorphine or 0.4 mg/kg butorphanol with acepromazine before anaesthesia with propofol, Saffan or thiopentone and isoflurane or halothane. Routine monitoring was undertaken. Pain and sedation were assessed blind using a four point (0-3) simple descriptive scale (SDS) at 1, 2, 4, 8 and 24h. Pain and sedation data were compared using non-parametric statistical tests and continuous data using t tests or analysis of variance (ANOVA). Anaesthesia and surgery were uneventful, and cardiorespiratory data were within normal limits. After surgery, overall, more cats had pain score 0 after buprenorphine and more had pain score 3 after butorphanol (P=0.0465). At individual time points, more cats had lower pain scores after buprenorphine at 2 (P=0.040) and 24 (P=0.036)h. At 24h 83% after buprenorphine and 63% after butorphanol had pain score 0 (P<0.04). Buprenorphine provided better and longer lasting postoperative analgesia than butorphanol. Copyright 2009 ISFM and AAFP. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Citation

Polly M Taylor, Jonathan J Kirby, Clare Robinson, Elizabeth A Watkins, David D Clarke, Marion A Ford, Karen E Church. A prospective multi-centre clinical trial to compare buprenorphine and butorphanol for postoperative analgesia in cats. Journal of feline medicine and surgery. 2010 Apr;12(4):247-55