250 O. Viking Höglund & J. Frendin soft stimuli (using a cotton bud) and tempera- ture change (using a spoon kept in a standard household freezer) of the previously infected and inﬂamed area. Statistics The change of painscore on the VAS from day one to day 2 equals the analgesic effect. Groups were compared using the Wilcoxon two-sample test using change in percent and absolute change. Results The results of pain assessments are shown in Figs. 1-6 and Table 1. The painscores on VAS for all dogs ranged be- tween 11.5 and 65 on day one before initiating treatment. On day 2 the scores had decreased by an average of 28.3 percent for group one and 8.3 percent for group 2 (Figs. 1-3). Groups compared using the Wilcoxon two- sample test yielded p = 0.064 when comparing decrease of painscores on VAS in millimetres (Fig. 4). When the groups' decrease of painscore on VAS was compared as a percentage, the Wilcoxon two-sample test yielded p = 0026 (Fig. 5). The 5 dogs (cases 4, 7, 8, 9, 10) that clearly had not improved on day 2 were examined again on day 3. Four of these 5 dogs (cases 7, 8, 9, 10) were treated with antibiotics and placebo, be- longing to group 2. When the dog owners were interviewed after 3 weeks, all reported a complete recovery with- out relapses. The dermis of the 7 dogs accessi- ble for re-examination after 3 weeks was diag- nosed as having gone through a normal healing process. There was no abnormal reaction to soft touch, pinch or cold stimuli. Discussion Pain relief is an important aspect of treatment Acta vet. scand. vol. 43 no. 4, 2002 during inﬂammatory processes and for the well-being of the animal. The analgesic effect, according to the differences in scores on the VAS after only one day of treatment with meloxicam in the present study, indicates that meloxicam has an analgesic effect in the dermis of the canine species. After 3 weeks of treat- ment with antibiotics all dogs were fully recov- ered. Follow-up examinations and interviews revealed no signs of wind-up and there were no differences in healing between the 2 groups af- ter termination of therapy. An infection in the skin is sometimes a painful process due to the inﬂammatory processes ini- tiated. The microorganisms will be reduced in numbers by the administration of antibiotics. This should eventually reduce the inﬂammatory process on the affected area. Therefore, a re- duction of pain will be seen when the infection is treated with antibiotics. NSAID inhibit cyclo-oxygenase 1 (COX-1) and 2 (COX-2). COX-1 inhibits platelet func- tion via blockade of thromboxane A2 (TxA2) formation and COX-2 mediates inﬂammatory responses. Meloxicam has analgesic, anti-in- ﬂammatory, antipyretic and anti-exudative ef- fects. After subcutaneous administration a maximum plasma concentration is reached af- ter 21⁄2 h. The half-life of meloxicam is 24 h. The main cause of meloxicam's effects is thought to be the inhibition of COX-2. Meloxicam also shows signiﬁcant TxA2 inhibition, although less than traditional NSAID. The result is re- duced synthesis of inﬂammatory mediators, prostaglandins, which play an important role in stimulating pain receptors (Medical Products Agency 2002, Rinder et al. 2002). Pyotraumatic dermatitis is described as a super- ﬁcial inﬂammatory process of undetermined cause and pathogenesis. Bacteria colonise the surface of the lesion but this is not a true skin infection. Preferred treatment is a corticos- teroid, topical or oral. In addition, the area is