Once you have this information, contact the area Animal Care Supervisor to help facilitate this cagecard and census sheet change. Thank you for helping to maintain accurate cagecards. The following article is intended to update investigators on current thinking in the area of analgesic use in rodents. Animal welfare guidelines recommend that all vertebrates that undergo procedures that might cause more than momentary pain or distress be treated with analgesics, unless it can be scientifically justified that the treatment will frustrate experimental objectives. Historically, this standard has been applied to large animals, but rarely to rodents or rabbits.
Many investigators administer analgesics only if signs of discomfort are observed.
In recent years, and in the light of some current research, research regulatory agencies and animal care committees are revising recommendations for post-operative analgesic use in rodent such that all rodents should receive analgesics if they undergo a procedure that has potential to be painful, regardless of whether or not clinical signs of pain are seen. The scientific rationale for this trend is explained below. Perhaps the most important concept is that the sensation of, and the processing of pain in all vertebrates is essentially similar. While certain differences do exist, it is reasonable to assume that a rat, for example, will experience pain similar to a dog or a human following a laparotomy or other invasive procedure. In fact, rats are one of the commonly used models for studying pain.