GPT pain Flashcards
(18 cards)
What factors must be considered when developing a pain management plan in veterinary anaesthesia?
- Species, breed, age of the animal
- Type and extent of the procedure performed
- Degree of tissue trauma
- Individual behavioural characteristics
- Degree of pain expected or present
- Overall health status
- Availability of drugs and techniques
- Combining pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic approaches
What are the benefits of pre-emptive analgesia in veterinary anaesthesia?
- Provides better control of pain during the postoperative period
- Reduces central sensitisation and intensity of pain response
- Can lead to decreased requirement for analgesics post-operatively
- Enhances patient recovery and comfort
Explain the concept and advantages of multimodal analgesia in veterinary anaesthesia.
- Combines drugs that work at different sites or mechanisms of the pain pathway
- Allows for lower doses of each drug, reducing the risk of side effects
- Enhances overall pain control effectiveness
- May improve patient recovery and comfort
List and describe the non-pharmacological adjuvants used in veterinary pain management.
- Heated cages or warm blankets: prevent trembling and muscle tension
- Comfortable bedding and quiet recovery area: enhances comfort
- Bandaging or padding: protects traumatised tissue
- Splinting or support: stabilises fractures
- Urinary catheterisation: for immobile animals
- General nursing care: includes cleaning, grooming, petting
- Owner interaction: reduces stress and anxiety
- Nutritional support: supports healing
- Complementary therapies: includes acupuncture, physiotherapy
Discuss the mechanism of action and side effects of NSAIDs used in veterinary analgesia.
- Inhibit COX enzyme in arachidonic acid metabolism
- Provide anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, and analgesic effects
- Increasingly recognised to act centrally for analgesia
- Side effects include: GI ulceration, nephrotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, decreased platelet function
- Must ensure adequate renal perfusion during perioperative use
What factors must be considered when developing a pain management plan in veterinary anaesthesia?
- Species, breed, age of the animal
- Type and extent of the procedure performed
- Degree of tissue trauma
- Individual behavioural characteristics
- Degree of pain expected or present
- Overall health status
- Availability of drugs and techniques
- Combining pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic approaches
What are the benefits of pre-emptive analgesia in veterinary anaesthesia?
- Provides better control of pain during the postoperative period
- Reduces central sensitisation and intensity of pain response
- Can lead to decreased requirement for analgesics post-operatively
- Enhances patient recovery and comfort
Explain the concept and advantages of multimodal analgesia in veterinary anaesthesia.
- Combines drugs that work at different sites or mechanisms of the pain pathway
- Allows for lower doses of each drug, reducing the risk of side effects
- Enhances overall pain control effectiveness
- May improve patient recovery and comfort
List and describe the non-pharmacological adjuvants used in veterinary pain management.
- Heated cages or warm blankets: prevent trembling and muscle tension
- Comfortable bedding and quiet recovery area: enhances comfort
- Bandaging or padding: protects traumatised tissue
- Splinting or support: stabilises fractures
- Urinary catheterisation: for immobile animals
- General nursing care: includes cleaning, grooming, petting
- Owner interaction: reduces stress and anxiety
- Nutritional support: supports healing
- Complementary therapies: includes acupuncture, physiotherapy
Discuss the mechanism of action and side effects of NSAIDs used in veterinary analgesia.
- Inhibit COX enzyme in arachidonic acid metabolism
- Provide anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, and analgesic effects
- Increasingly recognised to act centrally for analgesia
- Side effects include: GI ulceration, nephrotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, decreased platelet function
- Must ensure adequate renal perfusion during perioperative use
Describe the mechanism of action and side effects of local anaesthetics used in veterinary analgesia.
- Block sodium channels in neuronal membranes, preventing action potential generation and propagation
- Can be administered epidurally, intrathecally, or locally for targeted analgesia
- Side effects: cardiovascular toxicity (arrhythmias, myocardial depression), neurotoxicity (muscle twitching, convulsions)
- Bupivacaine is more cardiotoxic; lidocaine is more neurotoxic
What is the mechanism of action and side effects of opioids in veterinary pain management?
- Act on opioid receptors (mu, kappa, delta) mimicking endogenous opioids
- Inhibit pain transmission in the spinal cord and modulate perception in the brain
- Side effects: sedation, bradycardia, dysphoria or excitement, respiratory depression, hypotension, nausea, hypothermia, urinary retention, constipation
Explain the mechanism and side effects of alpha-2 agonists like medetomidine in analgesia.
- Act on alpha-2 adrenergic receptors to provide analgesia, sedation, and muscle relaxation
- Reduce norepinephrine release in the central nervous system
- Side effects: vasoconstriction leading to hypertension and bradycardia, sedation, hyperglycaemia, increased urinary output
How does ketamine provide analgesia and what are its associated side effects?
- Blocks NMDA receptors in the spinal cord and brain to prevent central sensitisation
- Effective in combination with opioids and alpha-2 agonists for enhanced analgesia
- Side effects: dysphoria, excitation, tachycardia, salivation
Describe the mechanism of action and potential side effects of tramadol in veterinary use.
- Acts on mu-opioid receptors and inhibits reuptake of serotonin and noradrenaline
- Useful for acute and chronic pain; available in injectable and oral forms
- Side effects: sedation, rare nausea/vomiting, tremors, dizziness, constipation
What is the mechanism of action and side effects of gabapentin in veterinary analgesia?
- Modulates voltage-gated calcium channels and GABA receptors
- Reduces glutamate release, useful in treating chronic and neuropathic pain
- Side effects: generally well tolerated; may cause mild sedation or ataxia
Explain the analgesic mechanism and toxicity risks of paracetamol in dogs.
- Likely acts on CNS COX-3 and induces endogenous cannabinoid production
- Activates descending serotonergic pathways
- Side effects: toxicity causes methaemoglobinaemia, red cell lysis, hepatic necrosis; treated with antioxidants like n-acetylcysteine
- ONLY safe for dogs; toxic to cats
What is the role and mechanism of maropitant in veterinary analgesia?
- NK-1 receptor antagonist blocking substance P
- Primarily used as an antiemetic but also provides visceral analgesia
- Minimal side effects; well tolerated
