The minimization and alleviation of suffering has moral and scientific implications. In order to mitigate this negative experience one must be able to identify when an animal is actually in distress. Pain, illness, or distress cannot be managed if unrecognized. Evaluation of pain or illness typically involves the measurement of physiologic and behavioral indicators which are either invasive or not suitable for large scale assessment.The observation of nesting behavior shows promise as the basis of a species appropriate cage-side assessment tool for recognizing distress in mice. Here we demonstrate the utility of nest building behavior in laboratory mice as an ethologically relevant indicator of welfare. The methods presented can be successfully used to identify thermal stressors, aggressive cages, sickness, and pain. Observation of nest building behavior in mouse colonies provides a refinement to health and well-being assessment on a day to day basis.

Evidence to support the existence of health consequences of psychogenic stress has been documented across a range of domestic species. A general understanding of methods of recognition and means of mitigation of psychogenic stress in hospitalized animals is arguably an important feature of the continuing efforts of clinicians to improve the well-being and health of dogs and other veterinary patients. The intent of this review is to describe, in a variety of species: the physiology of the stress syndrome, with particular attention to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis; causes and characteristics of psychogenic stress; mechanisms and sequelae of stress-induced immune dysfunction; and other adverse effects of stress on health outcomes. Following that, we describe general aspects of the measurement of stress and the role of physiological measures and behavioral signals that may predict stress in hospitalized animals, specifically focusing on dogs.

Identification of severe stress in hospitalized veterinary patients may improve treatment outcomes and welfare. To assess stress levels, in Study 1, we collected salivary cortisol samples and behavioral parameters in 28 healthy dogs hospitalized prior to elective procedures. Dogs were categorized into two groups; low cortisol (LC) and high cortisol (HC), based on the distribution of cortisol concentrations (< or ≥ 0.6 µg/dL). We constructed a stress research tool (SRT) based on three behaviors, (head resting, panting and lip licking) that were most strongly related to salivary cortisol concentrations. In Study 2, we collected salivary cortisol samples from 39 additional dogs, evaluated behavior/cortisol relationships, assigned each dog to an LC or HC group, and tested the ability of the SRT to predict salivary cortisol. Median (interquartile range) salivary cortisol concentrations were not different between Study 1 (0.43 µg/dL, 0.33 to 1.00 µg/dL) and Study 2 dogs (0.41 µg/dL, 0.28 to 0.52 µg/dL). The median salivary cortisol concentration was significantly lower (P ≤ 0.001) in LC versus HC dogs in each study; (Study 1 LC: 0.38 µg/dL, (0.19 to 0.44), n = 19, HC: 2.0 µg/dL, (1.0 to 2.8), n = 9, and Study 2 LC: 0.35 µg/dL, (0.25 to 0.48), n = 28, HC: 0.89 µg/dL, (0.66 to 1.4), n = 7). In Study 1, three behaviors were found to be associated with salivary cortisol concentrations. Duration of head resting was negatively associated with salivary cortisol (ρ = −0.60, P = 0.001), panting and lip licking were positively associated with cortisol (ρ = 0.39, P = 0.04, and 0.30, P = 0.05, respectively), Head resting (p = 0.001) and panting (p = 0.003) were also associated with LC/HC group assignment. In Study 2 dogs, the three behaviors correlated (but not significantly) with salivary cortisol concentration; of the three, only head resting was significantly associated with LC/HC group assignment (P = 0.03). The SRT derived from Study 1 was effective at prediction of salivary cortisol concentrations when applied to 20 min but not 2 min of behavioral data from Study 2. Additionally, we note that dexmedetomidine and butorphanol sedation more than 6 h prior to measurement was found to be significantly (P = 0.05) associated with lower salivary cortisol concentrations when compared to unsedated dogs. Our work offers support for eventual construction of a rating tool that utilizes the presence or absence of specific behaviors to identify higher salivary cortisol concentrations in dogs subjected to hospitalization, which may be tied to greater psychogenic stress levels. Future work to investigate the effects of stress on dogs and its mitigation in clinical situations may be approached by studying a combination o f parameters, and should consider the possible beneficial effects of sedatives.

Twenty-eight horses with the diagnosis of an intestinal disorder requiring surgical intervention were randomly assigned to lidocaine (n ϭ 13) or saline (control, n ϭ 15) treatment groups. After induction of anesthesia, treated horses received a loading dose of 2% lidocaine (0.65 mg/kg) intravenously, followed by a continuous rate of infusion of 1% lidocaine (0.025 mg/kg/min) until the discontinuation of anesthesia. Upon recovery from anesthesia, a 2nd loading dose of 2% lidocaine (1.3 mg/kg) was administered, followed by an infusion of 1% lidocaine (0.05 mg/kg/min) for 24 hours postoperatively. The control group received equivalent volumes of saline. Lidocaine-treated horses had significantly better minimum jejunal cross-sectional area scores (P ϭ .011), minimum jejunal diameter scores (P ϭ .002), and intestinal ultrasound index (IUI) (P ϭ .007). Peritoneal fluid was detected by percutaneous ultrasound examination in 8 of the 15 control animals but in none of the treated animals (P ϭ .003). Failure to obtain fluid via abdominocentesis was significantly more frequent for lidocaine-treated horses (P ϭ .025). No significant differences between the groups were found in the presence of gastrointestinal sounds, time to passage of 1st feces, number of defecations in the 1st 24 hours, presence of gastric reflux, duodenal or jejunal wall thickness, maximum duodenal or jejunal diameter or crosssectional area, minimum duodenal diameter or cross-sectional area, duodenal and jejunal intraluminal echogenicity, small-intestinal contractions per minute, rate of complications, or outcome. On the basis of this study, lidocaine infusion may have some desirable effects on jejunal distension and peritoneal fluid accumulation and was well tolerated perioperatively in horses with colic. The low incidence of small-intestinal lesions and gastric reflux in the study makes it difficult to assess the use of lidocaine in the prevention of postoperative ileus (POI).

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