Development, validation and reliability of a postoperative acute pain scale in rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

• Grant number: 18/17839-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: January 01, 2019
• End date: February 29, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Stelio Pacca Loureiro Luna
• Grantee: Renata Haddad Pinho
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 17/12815-0 - Pain and quality of life in animals, AP.TEM

Abstract

Due to the widespread use of rabbits in research that occasionally causes pain and the lack of studies evaluating pain-related behavior in this species, the objective of this study is to develop and validate a postoperative acute pain scale in rabbits. Animals' behavior before and after the pain stimulus will be measured for the development of the ethogram, identifying pain-related changes. Thirty rabbits, male or female, will be filmed and evaluated in four moments: before surgery (M0), after surgery before rescue analgesia (M1), after rescue analgesia (M2) and 24 hours after surgery (M3). Pain-related behaviors will be reviewed by experts so only relevant items shall be selected. Three blind observers will evaluate the rabbits by video clips and score the animals according to the developed scale. One month after the first evaluation, the videos will be randomized for a second time and reevaluated. Criteria and construct validation will be performed on the scale developed. The intra- and interobserver agreement will be made by the Weighted Kappa coefficient and, in order to determine the optimal cutoff point for analgesic rescue, both instruments will be submitted to the descriptive analysis and compared by the application of the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve, whose purpose is to facilitate the recognition of pain and set the best time for introduce a rescue analgesia. The results of this study are applicable to rabbits submitted to painful processes, so they can be effectively treated, improving laboratory and company animals' welfare. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

HADDAD PINHO, RENATA; LUNA, STELIO PACCA LOUREIRO; TRINDADE, PEDRO HENRIQUE ESTEVES; JUSTO, ANDRE AUGUSTO; CIMA, DANIELA SANTILLI; FONSECA, MARIANA WERNECK; MINTO, BRUNO WATANABE; ROCHA, FABIANA DEL LAMA C.; MILLER, AMY; FLECKNELL, PAUL; et al. Validation of the rabbit pain behaviour scale (RPBS) to assess acute postoperative pain in rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). PLoS One, v. 17, n. 5, p. 30-pg., 2022-01-01. (18/17839-7, 17/12815-0)

PINHO, RENATA HADDAD; LEACH, MATTHEW C.; MINTO, BRUNO WATANABE; ROCHA, FABIANA DEL LAMA; LOUREIRO LUNA, STELIO PACCA. Postoperative pain behaviours in rabbits following orthopaedic surgery and effect of observer presence. PLoS One, v. 15, n. 10, OCT 22 2020. (18/17839-7, 17/12815-0)

PINHO, RENATA H.; JUSTO, ANDRE A.; CIMA, DANIELA S.; FONSECA, MARIANA W.; MINTO, BRUNO W.; ROCHA, FABIANA D. L.; LEACH, MATTHEW C.; LUNA, STELIO P. L.. Effects of Human Observer Presence on Pain Assessment Using Facial Expressions in Rabbits. Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, v. 62, n. 1, p. 6-pg., 2023-01-01. (18/17839-7, 17/12815-0)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

PINHO, Renata Haddad. Development, validation and reliability of a pain scale for assessing postoperative pain in rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus).. 2020. Master's Dissertation - Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp). Faculdade de Medicina. Botucatu Botucatu.