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 .
Effects of meperidine or saline on thermal, mechanical and electrical nociceptive thresholds in cats.
OBJECTIVE To measure cutaneous electrical nociceptive thresholds in relation to known thermal and mechanical stimulation for nociceptive threshold detection in cats . STUDY DESIGN Prospect i ve , blinded , r and omized cross-over study with 1-week washout interval . ANIMALS Eight adult cats [ bodyweight 5.1 + /- 1.8 kg ( mean + SD ) ] . METHODS Mechanical nociceptive thresholds were tested using a step-wise manual inflation of a modified blood pressure bladder attached to the cat 's thoracic limb .  Thermal nociceptive thresholds were measured by increasing the temperature of a probe placed on the thorax . The electrical nociceptive threshold was tested using an escalating current from a constant current generator passed between electrodes placed on the thoracic region . A positive response ( threshold ) was recorded when cats displayed any or all of the following behaviors : leg shake , head turn , avoidance , or vocalization . Four baseline readings were performed before intramuscular injection of meperidine ( 5 mg kg(-1 ) ) or an equal volume of saline . Threshold recordings with each modality were made at 15 , 30 , 45 , 60 , 90 , and 120 minutes post-injection . Data were analyzed using ANOVA and paired t-tests ( significance at p < 0.05 ) . RESULTS There were no significant changes in thermal , mechanical , or electrical thresholds after saline . Thermal thresholds increased at 15 - 60 minutes ( p < 0.01 ) and mechanical threshold increased at 30 and 45 minutes after meperidine ( p < 0.05 ) . Maximum thermal threshold was + 4.1 + /- 0.3 degrees C above baseline at 15 minutes while maximum mechanical threshold was 296 + /- 265 mmHg above baseline at 30 minutes after meperidine . Electrical thresholds following meperidine were not significantly different than baseline ( p > 0.05 ) . Thermal and electrical thresholds after meperidine were significantly higher than saline at 30 and 45 minutes ( p < 0.05 ) , and at 120 minutes ( p < 0.05 ) , respectively . Mechanical thresholds were significantly higher than saline treatment at 30 minutes ( p < or= 0.05 ) . CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Electrical stimulation did not detect meperidine analgesia whereas both thermal and mechanical thresholds changed after meperidine administration in cats
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 .