Pain-related behavior was not observed in dairy cattle in the days after liver biopsy, regardless of whether NSAIDs were administered

• Published in: Research in veterinary science Vol. 104; pp. 195 - 199
• Main Authors: Barrett, Lorelle A., Beausoleil, Ngaio J., Benschop, Jackie, Stafford, Kevin J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.02.2016; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Analgesia; Anesthetics, Local - administration & dosage; Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal - administration & dosage; Behavior; Biopsy; Biopsy - veterinary; Cattle; Feeds; Female; Ketoprofen - administration & dosage; Liver; Liver - surgery; Liver biopsy; Pain; Pain Management - veterinary; Procaine - administration & dosage; Random Allocation; Thiazines - administration & dosage; Thiazoles - administration & dosage; Veterinary medicine; Liver biopsy; Analgesia; Pain; Behavior; Cattle
• ISSN: 0034-5288; 1532-2661
• DOI: 10.1016/j.rvsc.2015.12.020

For liver biopsy in cattle, it is routine practice to only provide local anesthesia (LA) to the skin and muscle layers, with visceral tissues remaining unanesthetized. Cattle being biopsied may therefore benefit from additional analgesia. This study aimed to determine if non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs would decrease post-biopsy pain in cattle. Twenty-four dairy cows were allocated into four treatment groups: biopsy under LA only; biopsy under LA with ketoprofen; biopsy under LA with meloxicam; and a sham-biopsied control group. Behavior was observed for 4h immediately following biopsy, and for 2h each day for the first three days after biopsy. No significant differences in behavior were found between any treatment groups on any day. This suggests that any post-biopsy pain present was not of enough significance to alter the cows' normal behavior patterns. Without identifying post-biopsy pain, it is not possible to determine what effect NSAID analgesia may have had on alleviating it. •Only local anesthetic (LA) is routinely given to cows undergoing liver biopsy.•NSAID analgesia may provide additional pain relief for this procedure.•Cows were biopsied with LA, LA+NSAIDS (ketoprofen or meloxicam) or sham-biopsied.•No differences in post-biopsy pain behavior were seen between treatment groups.•Without identifying post-biopsy pain, the effect of NSAID analgesia is not clear.