Central sensitization as a result of surgical pain: investigation of the pre-emptive value of pethidine for ovariohysterectomy in the rat.

The development of central hypersensitivity as a result of a routine surgical procedure, midline ovariohysterectomy, was investigated in rats using the paw pressure test (PPT) and tail-flick latency (TFL) tests of spinal reflex activity. In addition, the modulating effect of pre-emptive versus post-operative administration of pethidine (a short-acting pure mu-opioid agonist) on the development of central hypersensitivity was studied. Initial experiments indicated that pethidine (15 mg/kg, i.

Postoperative analgesic and sedative effects of carprofen and pethidine in dogs.

Forty dogs undergoing a variety of orthopaedic surgical procedures were randomly assigned to one of two analgesic protocols, receiving either pethidine at 2 mg/kg pre-operatively and 3 mg/kg postoperatively, or carprofen, a new non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug at 4 mg/kg pre-operatively. Analgesia and sedation were assessed after the operations under double blind conditions using a discontinuous scoring system and a visual analogue scale. There was good agreement between the two scoring systems, and a statistical analysis of the visual analogue scores showed that carprofen provided slightly better pain relief than pethidine and produced less sedation.