We propose standardized definitions and criteria for documenting subjective results for clinical orthopedic studies in veterinary medicine. To our knowledge, no common terminology or basis for describing results in this manner has been published. This lack of standardization limits our abilities to communicate study results in a consistent manner, interpret data appropriately, and compare results across studies, centers, and techniques. An initial step toward addressing these deficiencies is to provide clear definitions and criteria for time frames of data collection, subjective outcomes, and complications. These definitions and criteria are recommended for use based on consensus among the authors who have experience and expertise in small animal and equine orthopedic clinical research. Our hope is that this terminology will be implemented so that data collection and reporting are more consistent and effective in veterinary orthopedic reports. BACKGROUND

Objective-To determine whether the Canine Brief Pain Inventory (CBPI) can detect changes in dogs with osteoarthritis treated with an NSAID or a placebo.Design-Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Animals-70 dogs with osteoarthritis.Procedures-Owners completed the CBPI on day 0. Dogs received carprofen or a placebo on days 1 through 14. Owners completed the CBPI again on day 14. Pain severity and pain interference scores from the CBPI were calculated, and the change from day 0 to day 14 was assessed within each group and between groups.Results-No significant differences were detected in median scores for pain severity (3.50 and 3.25 on days 0 and 14, respectively) and pain interference (3.92 and 3.25 on days 0 and 14, respectively) in dogs receiving the placebo. Dogs receiving carprofen had significant changes in median scores for pain severity (4.25 to 2.25 on days 0 and 14, respectively) and pain interference (4.33 to 2.67 on days 0 and 14, respectively). There was a significantly greater improvement in pain severity and pain interference scores in dogs treated with carprofen, compared with improvement in scores for dogs receiving the placebo.Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-The CBPI was able to detect improvements in pain scores in dogs with osteoarthritis treated with an NSAID or a placebo. These results, in combination with previous reliability and validity testing, support the use of the CBPI to obtain quantifiable assessments from owners regarding the severity and impact of chronic pain and treatment for dogs with osteoarthritis.The availability of quantitative measures of chronic pain that are valid and reliable in clinical patients is crucial for the development and testing of interventions (eg, drugs or surgical procedures) designed to reduce such pain. Studies designed to test the efficacy of interventions intended to decrease chronic pain in companion dogs with osteoarthritis have relied heavily on a veterinarian's assessment of lameness supported by values generated through the use of force plate gait analysis. When properly collected, gait analysis data offer an objective measure that can be reliably monitored over time; however, it can be an extremely time-consuming process, requires specialized equipment, and relies on relatively strict inclusion criteria. In addition, these measures only evaluate an animal at 1 specific time point and outside of its typical environment, and weight bearing on an affected limb is only 1 part of the much larger picture of chronic pain in companion dogs with osteoarthritis. 1-5 A detailed behavior-based

Laparoscopy is a safe method for ovariectomy in small dogs and results in increased postoperative activity counts when compared with an open technique.

No abstract

Objective-To develop and psychometrically test an owner self-administered questionnaire designed to assess severity and impact of chronic pain in dogs with osteoarthritis.Sample Population-70 owners of dogs with osteoarthritis and 50 owners of clinically normal dogs.Procedures-Standard methods for the stepwise development and testing of instruments designed to assess subjective states were used. Items were generated through focus groups and an expert panel. Items were tested for readability and ambiguity, and poorly performing items were removed. The reduced set of items was subjected to factor analysis, reliability testing, and validity testing.Results-Severity of pain and interference with function were 2 factors identified and named on the basis of the items contained in them. Cronbach's α was 0.93 and 0.89, respectively, suggesting that the items in each factor could be assessed as a group to compute factor scores (ie, severity score and interference score). The test-retest analysis revealed κ values of 0.75 for the severity score and 0.81 for the interference score. Scores correlated moderately well (r = 0.51 and 0.50, respectively) with the overall quality-of-life (QOL) question, such that as severity and interference scores increased, QOL decreased. Clinically normal dogs had significantly lower severity and interference scores than dogs with osteoarthritis. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-A psychometrically sound instrument was developed.Responsiveness testing must be conducted to determine whether the questionnaire will be useful in reliably obtaining quantifiable assessments from owners regarding the severity and impact of chronic pain and its treatment on dogs with osteoarthritis.It is crucial to have quantitative measures of chronic pain that are valid and reliable in clinical patients to enable development and testing of interventions (such as drugs or surgical procedures) designed to reduce such pain. In the past, studies designed to test the efficacy of interventions intended to decrease chronic pain in dogs with osteoarthritis have relied heavily on a veterinarian's assessment of lameness supported by values generated through gait analysis by use of a force plate. When collected properly, data on gait analysis offer an objective measure that can be reliably monitored over time; however, it can be extremely time consuming, requires specialized equipment, and relies on relatively strict inclusion criteria. In addition, these measures only evaluate an animal at 1 specific point in NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript time, and weight bearing on an affected limb is only 1 part of the much larger picture of chronic pain in dogs with osteoarthritis. [1][2][3][4][5] When an owner brings a dog to a veterinarian with a concern that the dog has signs of a chronic painful condition, they report a number of behaviors that they attribute to the painful condition (eg, no longer climbs stairs or jumps onto the bed). In monitoring the progression of the dog's cond...

Use of a vessel-sealing device significantly shortens surgical time and provides excellent hemostasis during LAOVH.

Intrathecal resiniferatoxin elicits transient hemodynamic effects. In controls, a profound and sustained blockade of thermal stimuli is produced in a dose-dependent fashion. Similar administration in dogs with bone cancer produces a prolonged antinociceptive response.

To decrease the incidence of postoperative wound infection, the duration of anesthesia should be minimized. Surgical time, as well as the time required for ancillary diagnostic tests while under anesthesia should, therefore, be kept to a reasonable minimum.