Dechra Brand Guidelines

Range Brochure

Pain: What is it and why should we treat it?

There are no generic cases. There are no predictable patients. But there is one comprehensive range.

Preventive analgesia The aimofpreventive analgesia is tominimise sensitisation inducedby noxiousperi-operative stimuli including those arisingpre-operatively, intra-operatively andpost-operatively 1 .For surgery andother clinicalprocedures theoptimal approach is toproactively and individually assess the expected amountofpainordiscomfortof the animal andprovide analgesia accordinglyprior to theonsetof thepainful stimulus and for thedurationof that stimulus. Premedication The aimsofpremedication are to relieve stressofhandling in the clinic environment; to smooth the stagesof anaesthesia – induction,maintenance and recovery; to contribute tomuscle relaxation and toprovide analgesia.Premedicationmay reduce the required amountsof induction andmaintenance agents. As each animal is unique it is recommended that you adapt yourpremedicationprotocols to each individual case. Assigning anASA level (TheAmericanSocietyofAnaesthesiologistsphysical status classification system)will assist you indetermining themost appropriateprotocol for theprocedure. Drugs that allow a choiceof administration route,dosing to effect, repeatdosing aswell as the possibilityof reversal; support flexible and safe anaestheticprocedures.Alpha 2 adrenergic receptor agonists andopioidswith their centrally acting sedative and analgesic effects arepivotal tools forpremedication, and form an importantpartof theDechra analgesia& anaesthesia range.

Pain isdefinedby ISAP (InternationalAssociation for theStudy ofPain) as “anunpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actualorpotential tissuedamage,ordescribed in termsof suchdamage”. Pain assessment is challengingbut is critical in allpatients.Aspain experiencediffersgreatlybetween individual animals, it is important toperform regularpain scoring to ensure that the appropriate level of analgesia isprovided. Unlesspain is recognised andquantified there is adangerpatients are either under-analgesed,with the inevitable consequenceofpain andpoorwelfare,or converselyover-analgesed,with thepotential for adverse effects 1 . Tomanagepain successfully you need tobe able to assesspain dynamically, incorporating: •Visual assessment • Interactionwith the animal •Assessmentofphysiological variables Controllingpain is as complex aspain itself.No two cases are the same, and eachprocedure isdifferent.Thedifferent classesof analgesics influencepainprocessing throughdifferentmechanisms, and can thereforebe used in combination tomaximise analgesia. For example aNSAID,opioid and local anaesthetic used in combination.This concept is known asmulti-modal analgesia. Multi-modal analgesia also forms an essentialpartofbalanced

anaesthesia.The conceptofbalanced anaesthesia is basedon administering smallerdosesof individual anaesthetic agentswhen used in combination thus diminishingpotential unwanted effects andmaximising advantageous effects.

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