Anesthesia and analgesia for common research models of adult mice

Abstract

Anesthesia and analgesia are major components of many interventional studies on laboratory animals. However, various studies have shown improper reporting or use of anesthetics/analgesics in research proposals and published articles. In many cases, it seems “anesthesia” and “analgesia” are used interchangeably, while they are referring to two different concepts. Not only this is an unethical practice, but also it may be one of the reasons for the proven suboptimal quality of many animal researches. This is a widespread problem among investigations on various species of animals. However, it could be imagined that it may be more prevalent for the most common species of laboratory animals, such as the laboratory mice. In this review, proper anesthetic/analgesic methods for routine procedures on laboratory mice are discussed. We considered the available literature and critically reviewed their anesthetic/analgesic methods. Detailed dosing and pharmacological information for the relevant drugs are provided and some of the drugs’ side effects are discussed. This paper provides the necessary data for an informed choice of anesthetic/analgesic methods in some routine procedures on laboratory mice.

Quantitative Proteomics Provided Insights into the Protective Effects of Heat Acclimation on the Rat Hypothalamus after Exertional Heatstroke

“…For pain scoring, we used a combination of behavioral and physiological indicators. These include changes in normal behavior (e.g., reduced activity, altered gait, changes in social interaction); physical signs (e.g., swelling, redness at the site of surgery); physiological measures (e.g., changes in respiratory rate); and specific pain-related behaviors (e.g., guarding the affected area) [31,32]. The rats had at most mild pain.…”

The 3Rs in Experimental Liver Disease

“…As mentioned, it is undeniable that any in-vivo experimentation on complex and severe diseases would prompt adverse effects on animals ranging from mild discomfort to long-lasting and intense pain, depending on the model. Surprisingly, in the case of mice and rats, this aspect is considered to be insufficiently explored and poorly tackled [160,161]. Several circumstances are thought to contribute to this phenomenon: Insufficient evidence-based information to guide effective treatments, concerns about unwanted interaction of analgesics in the experimental outcomes or lack of specifications, and underreporting analgesia in projects and published articles stand out among others [161].…”

“…Several circumstances are thought to contribute to this phenomenon: Insufficient evidence-based information to guide effective treatments, concerns about unwanted interaction of analgesics in the experimental outcomes or lack of specifications, and underreporting analgesia in projects and published articles stand out among others [161]. Although it may not be realistic to expect that all pain is going to be successfully managed, simple strategies, such as anticipation of pain, multimodal analgesia, or a close evaluation of suffering and response to therapy post-intervention, as mentioned, should significantly foster welfare [160,162,163].…”

“…This pain is usually associated with notable levels of morbidity and mortality [30,172] and is considered traditionally neglected as well [173]. In that sense, local lidocaine-based anesthesia, either topically or injected in combination with bupivacaine, could provide multimodal analgesia at the incision site during laparotomy [174] when used along inhaled anesthetics such as isoflurane [160,172]. Alternatively, the ketamine-xylazine cocktail can be used as IP anesthetic, although tailoring the dose is necessary when applied to mice with chronic liver disease [160,175].…”

“…In that sense, local lidocaine-based anesthesia, either topically or injected in combination with bupivacaine, could provide multimodal analgesia at the incision site during laparotomy [174] when used along inhaled anesthetics such as isoflurane [160,172]. Alternatively, the ketamine-xylazine cocktail can be used as IP anesthetic, although tailoring the dose is necessary when applied to mice with chronic liver disease [160,175]. If this cocktail is used, preventive butorphanol or metamizole have been explored as a pain-anticipation strategy, showing positive results in the control with analgesia perioperatively [176].…”