Reported analgesic administration to rabbits undergoing experimental surgical procedures

Abstract

BackgroundIt has become widely accepted that whenever animals are used in scientific procedures, the 3Rs principle of replacement, reduction and refinement described by William Russell and Rex Burch should be adhered to. Animals should be replaced with non-sentient alternatives if possible, the number of animals used should be reduced and experimental procedures should be refined to minimise pain, suffering and distress. Administration of analgesic agents to animals undergoing surgical procedures is a refinement used to alleviate pain. In this study, a structured literature review was carried out to examine current trends in analgesic administration to rabbits undergoing experimental surgical procedures.Results128 papers from 51 peer-reviewed journals were selected for inclusion in this review. Reporting administration of systemic analgesia to rabbits in peer-reviewed scientific papers increased significantly from 16% to 50% between 1995-1997 and 2005-2007 (P < 0.001). Papers that reported ethical approval were more likely than papers that did not specify approval to report systemic analgesic administration (P < 0.001). When systemic analgesics were administered, buprenorphine was the most frequently used agent and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were used less frequently than opioids in both time periods.ConclusionsAlthough this review provides evidence that systemic analgesic administration to rabbits undergoing surgical procedures is increasing, rabbits do not always receive analgesia when they undergo experimental surgery. Other practices in rabbit perioperative care that could be improved, highlighted by this survey include: 1) changing the timing of analgesic administration by giving systemic analgesics pre- or perioperatively rather than only postoperatively, 2) using multimodal analgesia when pain is likely to be moderate to severe and 3) increasing the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and use of other techniques such as epidural analgesia particularly for orthopaedic procedures.

Pain Management for Animals Used in Science: Views of Scientists and Veterinarians in Canada

“…These inconsistencies have the potential to impact research results as well as the welfare of the animals. However, typically this information is not included in the methods sections of papers that arise from the work, as has been reported in studies that aimed to quantify the prevalence of analgesic administration [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Use of standardized checklists for reporting methodological details of animal-based research may assist in standardizing this information and decreasing inconsistencies in practice [ 33 ].…”

“…Some studies have aimed to quantify the prevalence of analgesic administration following surgery and/or other potentially painful procedures in a variety of laboratory animal species [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. The studies concluded that the use of analgesia has increased over time, but the proportion of animals reported as receiving analgesics remains less than the proportion subjected to painful procedures, especially in the case of smaller species [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Similarly, a Canadian survey of analgesia-withholding found that over 12 months, 42,700 animals (approximately 1.9% of total national use) were used in invasive protocols that received animal ethics committee (AEC) approval to withhold analgesia [ 10 ].…”

Pain management in pigs undergoing experimental surgery; a literature review (2012–4)

“…However, such assurance is probably misplaced. Coulter and colleagues 31 found that papers reporting ethical approval were also more likely to report systemic analgesic administration than those that did not. Furthermore, standards of ethical review differ widely between countries.…”

“…The problems with this approach are described elsewhere, and the effect of exclusion is contentious. 45 46 Previous studies comparing the frequency of reported analgesic use in rodents (10-20%, Stokes and colleagues), 18 larger laboratory animals, including pigs (67%, Coulter and colleagues), 30 and rabbits (16-50%, Coulter and colleagues) 31 over two time periods have elucidated trends in the refinement of animal experiments. However, the present review revealed problems with using the level of reported analgesic use to quantify refinement.…”

Refinement on the Way Towards Replacement: Are We Doing What We Can?

“…The Use of Experimental Refinements in Practice Several structured and systematic literature reviews have given some insight on certain experimental refinements, notably, killing methods (Pound and Nicol, 2018;Uhlig et al, 2015) and the use of anesthetics and analgesics (Bertrand, Sandersen and Flecknell, 2018;Carbone and Austin, 2016;Coulter, Flecknell and Richardson 2009;Coulter et al, 2011;Pound and Nicol, 2018;Richardson, and Flecknell, 2005;Stokes, Flecknell and Richardson, 2009;Uhlig et al, 2015). For example, animal research involving surgical procedures carried out on diverse species and published in peer-reviewed journals has been analyzed with regard to analgesic and anesthetic administration (Coulter et al, 2011;Coulter, Flecknell and Richardson, 2009;Richardson and Flecknell, 2005). Stokes, focused on studies conducted in two time periods (2000-2001 and 2005-2006), assessing trends in the administration of analgesics and anesthetics to laboratory mice and rats undergoing surgical procedures.…”