The equine acute phase response after keyhole surgery

Pharmacokinetics of intra-articular morphine in horses with lipopolysaccharide-induced synovitis

“…The study of IA morphine kinetics during the presence of inflammation was considered imperative for several reasons: 1) IA morphine is intended for post-arthroscopic analgesia and despite its minimally invasive nature, arthroscopic surgery does result in some degree of inflammation (Stein et al 1991;Miller et al 2006); 2) inflammation has been proposed to be a pivotal prerequisite for expression of peripheral opioid receptors and hence for peripheral opioid analgesia (Stein 2006); and 3) inflammation of the synovium might affect pharmacokinetics of drugs administered IA. Morphine is a small (molecular weight = 285.4) hydrophilic compound containing two hydroxyl groups at the 3-and 6-positions and a tertiary amino group.…”