Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Application of a modified form of the Glasgow pain scale in a veterinary teaching centre in the Netherlands.
- Journal:
- The Veterinary record
- Year:
- 2008
- Authors:
- Murrell, J C et al.
- Affiliation:
- University of Utrecht · Netherlands
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Researchers in the Netherlands tested a new version of a pain scale designed to measure how much pain dogs feel after surgery. They used this modified scale on 60 dogs over 24 hours following their operations, while also looking at how sleepy the dogs were and how much pain they seemed to be in. The results showed that the modified scale could effectively tell the difference between dogs with no pain, mild pain, moderate pain, and severe pain. Additionally, the pain scores changed as expected over time, which suggests that the scale is a reliable way to measure pain in dogs. Overall, the study confirmed that the modified pain scale works well in a different clinical setting.
Abstract
The Glasgow Composite Measure Pain Scale was developed to measure acute pain in dogs in a hospital setting. In this investigation a modified version of the scale was applied in a centre with a different surgical case load and analgesic protocols, and where English is not the first language, to test its validity in a different clinical environment. The modified scale was used to score pain in 60 dogs during the 24 hours after surgery. Their levels of sedation and a clinical impression of their pain were scored at the same time. Three questions were considered; first, how the modified pain score was related to the pain assessed subjectively, secondly, how it related to variables such as the surgical procedure and the dog's health and thirdly, how it changed over time. The mean modified pain scores for the dogs rated subjectively as having no, mild, moderate or severe pain were significantly different, indicating that the modified scale distinguished between pain of different severities. The changes in the dogs' scores also followed the expected changes in their level of pain with time, providing empirical evidence that the scale measures pain.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18375984/