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 .
Clinical efficacy and safety of dexmedetomidine used as a preanesthetic prior to general anesthesia in cats.
OBJECTIVE To evaluate the clinical efficacy of dexmedetomidine as a preanesthetic medication administered prior to anesthetic induction with ketamine or propofol and with or without isoflurane for maintenance of anesthesia . DESIGN R and omized , blinded , controlled clinical trial . ANIMALS 184 client-owned cats . PROCEDURES Cats requiring general anesthesia for short or long procedures were assigned to receive 1 of 4 preanesthetic and induction drug combinations ( dexmedetomidine and ketamine , placebo [ saline { 0.9 % NaCl } solution ] and ketamine , dexmedetomidine and propofol , or placebo and propofol ) . Cats undergoing long procedures received isoflurane for maintenance of anesthesia . RESULTS Administration of dexmedetomidine prior to anesthetic induction with ketamine significantly increased the intubation success rate ( 57/64 [ 89 % ] ) , compared with the success rate for the placebo ( 4/37 [ 11 % ] ) ; significantly reduced the median induction dose of propofol ( ≤ 5.1 mg/kg [ 2.32 mg/lb ] ) , compared with that for the placebo ( ≤ 10.5 mg/kg [ 4.77 mg/lb ] ) ; and significantly reduced the isoflurane concentration ( 1.5 % ) required for anesthesia maintenance , compared with that for the placebo ( 3.0 % ) . Postoperatively , fewer cats receiving dexmedetomidine  required rescue analgesia , and cats had lower pain scores for at least 2 hours after surgery , compared with results for cats receiving the  placebo . Heart rate was lower during the procedure and respiratory rate and rectal temperature were lower during and after the procedure for cats receiving dexmedetomidine . More cats that received dexmedetomidine  had emesis and pale mucous membranes , compared with the number of cats with those signs that received placebo . CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Dexmedetomidine as a preanesthetic was efficacious for clinical use in cats requiring general anesthesia
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 .