Thirty-eight dogs with hip dysplasia were studied to evaluate the use of gold wire implants at acupuncture points around the hip joints. They were assigned at random into two groups of 19. In the treated group, gold wire was inserted through hypodermic needles at electrically found acupuncture points around both hips. In the control group, the areas were prepared in the same way but had only the skin pierced at sites which were not acupuncture points, with a needle of the same size as that used in the treated group. Over a period of six months the dogs were studied repeatedly by two veterinarians and by the dogs' owners who were unaware of the treatments the dogs had received; they assessed the dogs' locomotion, hip function and signs of pain. Radiographs were taken at the beginning and end of the study. Although the data collected from both groups by the veterinarians and the owners showed a significant improvement of locomotion and reduction in signs of pain (P=0.036 for the veterinary evaluation and locomotion and P=0.0001 and P=0.0034 for the owners' evaluation of locomotion and pain, respectively), there were no statistically significant differences between the treated and control groups (P=0.19 and P=0.41, P=0.24, respectively).

BackgroundThe aim of the study was to investigate the effect of acupuncture on wound healing after soft tissue or orthopaedic surgery in dogs.Methods29 dogs were submitted to soft tissue and/or orthopaedic surgeries. Five dogs had two surgical wounds each, so there were totally 34 wounds in the study. All owners received instructions for post operative care as well as antibiotic and pain treatment. The dogs were randomly assigned to treatment or control groups. Treated dogs received one dry needle acupuncture treatment right after surgery and the control group received no such treatment. A veterinary surgeon that was blinded to the treatment, evaluated the wounds at three and seven days after surgery in regard to oedema (scale 0-3), scabs (yes/no), exudate (yes/no), hematoma (yes/no), dermatitis (yes/no), and aspect of the wound (dry/humid).ResultsThere was no significant difference between the treatment and control groups in the variables evaluated three and seven days after surgery. However, oedema reduced significantly in the group treated with acupuncture at seven days compared to three days after surgery, possibly due the fact that there was more oedema in the treatment group at day three (although this difference was nor significant between groups).ConclusionsThe use of a single acupuncture treatment right after surgery in dogs did not appear to have any beneficial effects in surgical wound healing.

Aquapuncture (AqP) consists of a water or saline solution injection into acupoints. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of aquapuncture on post-operative analgesia in bitches submitted to elective ovariohysterectomy (OHE). The study was prospective, randomised, and blinded for pain assessment. Sixteen dogs were randomly distributed in two groups of eight animals each. All animals were sedated with 0.05 mg kg -1 of acepromazine intramuscularly (IM), 30 minutes prior to induction of anaesthesia with propofol and maintenance with isoflurane. Eight animals underwent bilateral acupoint injection with 0.1 ml of 0.9% saline (AqP) at Gall Bladder 34, Stomach 36, Liver 3 and Spleen 6 acupoints 15 minutes after sedation. Pain score was investigated after 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 8 and 24 hours post-operatively and was compared with a control untreated group of eight animals. Morphine, at 0.5 mg kg -1 IM, was administered when the numerical rating scale was above 33% of the maximum value, in order to control post-operative pain in both groups. There were no differences in cardiorespiratory variables and pain and sedation scores between the groups. Seven (87.5%) animals from the control group required rescue analgesia at the first two postoperative hours and five (62.5%) animals treated with AqP required rescue analgesia, however, only one (12.5%) animal was treated at the first two hours and the remaining animals were treated from 5 hours after surgery. Aquapuncture produced residual analgesia up to 5 h after surgery and may be an option for post-operative analgesia in bitches undergoing OHE, providing that pain is assessed and rescue analgesia administered if necessary. Key words: Acupuncture, pain, surgery, morphine ResumoA aquapuntura (AqP) é uma técnica que consiste na injeção de solução fisiológica ou água destilada em pontos de acupuntura. Este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar o efeito da AqP na analgesia pós- operatória em cadelas submetidas à ovariohisterectomia eletiva (OHE). O estudo foi prospectivo, aleatório e "cego" para avaliação da dor. Dezesseis cadelas foram distribuídas aleatoriamente em dois grupos de oito animais cada. Todos os animais foram sedados com 0.05 mg kg -1 de acepromazina por via intramuscular (IM), 30 minutos antes da indução à anestesia com propofol e manutenção com isoflurano. Oito animais foram submetidos à injeção bilateral com 0,1 mL de solução salina 0,9% (AqP) nos acupontos Vesícula Biliar 34, Estômago 36, Fígado 3 e Baço 6, 15 minutos após a sedação. A dor foi avaliada 0,5, 1, 2, 5, 8 e 24 horas após a cirurgia e comparada com um grupo controle não tratado, de oito animais. O resgaste analgésico foi realizado com 0,5 mg kg -1 de morfina IM quando o escore de dor foi superior a 33% do valor máximo em ambos os grupos. Não houve diferenças nas variáveis cardiorrespiratórias e escores de dor e de sedação entre os grupos. Sete (87,5%) animais do grupo controle necessitaram analgesia de resgate nas duas primeiras horas de pós-operatório e cinco (62,5%) animais tratados com AqP necessitar...