Background: There are no validated systems for measuring pain from osteoarthritis in cats. Hypothesis: Owner subjective assessments and an activity monitor (AM) can be used to detect pain in cats with osteoarthritis and to assess efficacy of treatments.Animals: Thirteen cats older than 10 years old, with owner-assessed decreases in activity, painful arthritic joints, and clinically normal blood work were included and evaluated for 3 weeks.Methods: A collar-mounted AM measured activity and a client-specific outcome measure (CSOM) questionnaire characterized the severity of impairment. Overall global quality of life was also evaluated for each treatment. In weeks 2 and 3, meloxicam (0.1 mg/kg, day 1; 0.05 mg/kg, days 2-5) or a placebo was administered in a blinded, randomized, cross-over manner to test the assessment systems.Results: The cats had a median of 4 arthritic appendicular joints. Activity counts for the week when cats (complete data on activity; n 5 9) were administered meloxicam were significantly higher than at baseline (P 5 .02) but not after placebo (P 5 .06). Baseline activity counts were not significantly different from placebo (P 5 .6). The CSOM data (n 5 13) showed that owners considered their cats to be more active on meloxicam compared with baseline (P 5 .001) and placebo (P , .004), and more active on placebo than at baseline (P , .01). Global quality of life improved significantly with meloxicam (P , .042).Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Both an AM and a CSOM system can detect behavior associated with pain relief in cats that are arthritic. Objective activity data might allow subjective assessment systems to be validated for use in clinical studies.

Values for GRFs varied between the FP and PSW. However, data derived by use of PSW were consistent and could be used to evaluate kinetic variables over time in the same dog.

Background: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) do not always provide sufficient pain relief in dogs with osteoarthritis (OA).Hypothesis: The use of amantadine in addition to NSAID therapy will provide improved pain relief when compared with the use of nonsteroidal analgesics alone in naturally occurring OA in dogs.Animals: Thirty-one client-owned dogs with pelvic limb lameness despite the administration of an NSAID. Methods: The study was randomized, blinded, and placebo controlled with parallel groups (days 21-42). On day 0, analgesic medications were discontinued. On day 7, all dogs received meloxicam for 5 weeks. On day 21, all dogs received amantadine (3-5 mg/kg once daily per os) or placebo for 21 days, in addition to receiving meloxicam. Assessments were performed before the study and on days 7, 21, and 42. Primary outcome measures were blinded owner assessments of activity using client-specific outcome measures (CSOM) on days 0, 7, 21, and 42. Data were analyzed by a mixed model approach.Results: For CSOM activity, there was a significant time by treatment effect (P 5 .009). On the basis of the planned post hoc t-tests of postrandomization means, there was a significant difference between treatment groups on day 42 (P 5 .030), with the amantadine group being more active.Conclusions and Clinical Importance: In dogs with osteoarthritic pain refractory to an NSAID, physical activity is improved by the addition of amantadine. Amantadine might be a useful adjunct therapy for the clinical management of canine osteoarthritic pain.

BFX THR normalizes standing bodyweight distribution dogs with hip osteoarthritis. Objective evaluation of THR outcome and radiographic features may reveal factors that could be improved through changes in prosthesis design or surgical technique.

No abstract