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 .
Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic modelling of intravenous, intramuscular and subcutaneous buprenorphine in conscious cats.
OBJECTIVE To describe simultaneous pharmacokinetics ( PK ) and thermal antinociception after intravenous ( i.v . ) , intramuscular ( i.m . ) and subcutaneous ( SC ) buprenorphine in cats . STUDY DESIGN R and omized , prospect i ve , blinded , three period crossover experiment . ANIMALS Six healthy adult cats weighing 4.1±0.5 kg . METHODS Buprenorphine ( 0.02 mg kg(-1 ) ) was administered i.v . , i.m . or s.c .. Thermal threshold ( TT ) testing  and  blood collection  were conducted simultaneously at baseline and at predetermined time points up to 24 hours after administration . Buprenorphine plasma concentrations were determined by liquid chromatography t and em mass spectrometry . TT was analyzed using anova ( p<0.05 ) . A pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic ( PK-PD ) model of the i.v . data was described using a model combining biophase equilibration and receptor association-dissociation kinetics . RESULTS TT increased above baseline from 15 to 480 minutes and at 30 and 60 minutes after i.v . and i.m . administration , respectively ( p<0.05 ) . Maximum increase in TT ( mean±SD ) was 9.3±4.9 ° C at 60 minutes ( i.v . ) , 4.6±2.8 ° C at 45 minutes ( i.m . ) and 1.9±1.9 ° C at 60 minutes ( s.c . ) . TT was significantly higher at 15 , 60 , 120 and 180 minutes , and at 15 , 30 , 45 , 60 and 120 minutes after i.v . administration compared to i.m . and s.c . , respectively . I.v . and i.m . buprenorphine concentration-time data decreased curvilinearly . S.c . PK could not be modeled due to erratic absorption and disposition . I.v . buprenorphine disposition was similar to published data . The PK-PD model showed an onset delay mainly attributable to slow biophase equilibration ( t(1/2 ) k(e0)=47.4 minutes ) and receptor binding ( k(on)=0.011 mL ng(-1 ) minute(-1 ) ) . Persistence of thermal antinociception was due to slow receptor dissociation ( t(1/2 ) k(off)=18.2 minutes ) . CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE I.v . and i.m . data followed classical disposition and elimination in most cats . Plasma concentrations after i.v . administration were associated with antinociceptive effect in a PK-PD model including negative hysteresis . At the doses administered , the i.v . route should be preferred over the i.m . and s.c . routes when buprenorphine is administered to 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 .