We propose standardized definitions and criteria for documenting subjective results for clinical orthopedic studies in veterinary medicine. To our knowledge, no common terminology or basis for describing results in this manner has been published. This lack of standardization limits our abilities to communicate study results in a consistent manner, interpret data appropriately, and compare results across studies, centers, and techniques. An initial step toward addressing these deficiencies is to provide clear definitions and criteria for time frames of data collection, subjective outcomes, and complications. These definitions and criteria are recommended for use based on consensus among the authors who have experience and expertise in small animal and equine orthopedic clinical research. Our hope is that this terminology will be implemented so that data collection and reporting are more consistent and effective in veterinary orthopedic reports. BACKGROUND

Objective-To determine whether the Canine Brief Pain Inventory (CBPI) can detect changes in dogs with osteoarthritis treated with an NSAID or a placebo.Design-Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Animals-70 dogs with osteoarthritis.Procedures-Owners completed the CBPI on day 0. Dogs received carprofen or a placebo on days 1 through 14. Owners completed the CBPI again on day 14. Pain severity and pain interference scores from the CBPI were calculated, and the change from day 0 to day 14 was assessed within each group and between groups.Results-No significant differences were detected in median scores for pain severity (3.50 and 3.25 on days 0 and 14, respectively) and pain interference (3.92 and 3.25 on days 0 and 14, respectively) in dogs receiving the placebo. Dogs receiving carprofen had significant changes in median scores for pain severity (4.25 to 2.25 on days 0 and 14, respectively) and pain interference (4.33 to 2.67 on days 0 and 14, respectively). There was a significantly greater improvement in pain severity and pain interference scores in dogs treated with carprofen, compared with improvement in scores for dogs receiving the placebo.Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-The CBPI was able to detect improvements in pain scores in dogs with osteoarthritis treated with an NSAID or a placebo. These results, in combination with previous reliability and validity testing, support the use of the CBPI to obtain quantifiable assessments from owners regarding the severity and impact of chronic pain and treatment for dogs with osteoarthritis.The availability of quantitative measures of chronic pain that are valid and reliable in clinical patients is crucial for the development and testing of interventions (eg, drugs or surgical procedures) designed to reduce such pain. Studies designed to test the efficacy of interventions intended to decrease chronic pain in companion dogs with osteoarthritis have relied heavily on a veterinarian's assessment of lameness supported by values generated through the use of force plate gait analysis. When properly collected, gait analysis data offer an objective measure that can be reliably monitored over time; however, it can be an extremely time-consuming process, requires specialized equipment, and relies on relatively strict inclusion criteria. In addition, these measures only evaluate an animal at 1 specific time point and outside of its typical environment, and weight bearing on an affected limb is only 1 part of the much larger picture of chronic pain in companion dogs with osteoarthritis. 1-5 A detailed behavior-based

Laparoscopy is a safe method for ovariectomy in small dogs and results in increased postoperative activity counts when compared with an open technique.

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