Studies were primarily related to the assessment of pain in relation to surgical procedures , and no clear distinction was made concerning the onset of acute and chronic pain .
The metrics used within the tools appeared to focus primarily on the sensory aspect of pain , with no study clearly discriminating between the sensory and affective components of pain .
Objectives The objectives were to review systematic ally the range of assessment tools used in cats to detect the behavioural expression of pain and the evidence of their quality ; and to examine behavioural metrics ( considering both the sensory and affective domains ) used to assess pain .
Dose-related thermal antinociceptive effects of intravenous hydromorphone in cats.
OBJECTIVE To describe the dose-related thermal antinociceptive effects of intravenous ( i.v . ) hydromorphone  in cats . STUDY DESIGN R and omized , blinded , crossover design . ANIMALS Seven adult cats ( 3.5 - 7.4 kg ) , two spayed females , and five neutered males . METHODS Hydromorphone ( 0.025 , 0.05 , or 0.1 mg kg(-1 ) ) was administered i.v .. Skin temperature and thermal threshold were measured before and at selected time points to 720 minutes post-administration . Statistical analysis of mean thermal threshold and skin temperatures over time for each dose and between doses was by way of a split-plot model and post hoc Bonferroni t-tests . p < 0.05 was considered significant . RESULTS A significant difference from baseline for mean thermal threshold was identified for the 0.05 mg kg(-1 ) dose ( 5 - 80 minutes , peak thermal threshold 46.9 + /- 6.2 degrees C ) and 0.1 mg kg(-1 ) dose ( 5 - 200 minutes , peak thermal threshold 54.9 + /-0.2 degrees C ) . The thermal threshold was significantly greater after the 0.1 mg kg(-1 ) dose from 5 to 200 minutes compared to the 0.025 mg kg(-1 ) and 0.5 mg kg(-1 ) doses . The thermal threshold was significantly greater from 35 to 80 minutes for the 0.05 mg kg(-1 ) dose when compared with the 0.025 mg kg(-1 ) dose . Skin temperature was significantly increased from 35 to 140 minutes following the 0.1 mg kg(-1 ) dose . CONCLUSIONS A dose-related antinociceptive effect was demonstrated for i.v . hydromorphone  in cats . CLINICAL RELEVANCE Hydromorphone at doses less than 0.1 mg kg(-1 ) has a modest antinociceptive effect and a short duration of action . At a dose of 0.1 mg kg(-1 ) i.v . , onset of analgesia is rapid with a clinical ly useful duration of effect , but is associated with a rise in skin temperature
Studies were primarily related to the assessment of pain in relation to surgical procedures , and no clear distinction was made concerning the onset of acute and chronic pain .
The metrics used within the tools appeared to focus primarily on the sensory aspect of pain , with no study clearly discriminating between the sensory and affective components of pain .
Objectives The objectives were to review systematic ally the range of assessment tools used in cats to detect the behavioural expression of pain and the evidence of their quality ; and to examine behavioural metrics ( considering both the sensory and affective domains ) used to assess pain .