The Journal of small animal practice
-
Comparative Study
Relationship between physiological factors and clinical pain in dogs scored using a numerical rating scale.
A study was designed to investigate the association between heart rate, respiratory rate and pupil dilation and a subjective pain score allocated using a numerical rating scale (NRS). Four groups of dogs (n = 17 to 20 per group) were included: orthopaedic surgery cases, soft tissue surgery cases, dogs with medical conditions and healthy dogs. Each dog was examined by five veterinary surgeons within a four-hour period. ⋯ This was significant for the surgical groups (P < 0.05) but not for the other groups. These findings indicate that heart rate and respiratory rate are not useful indicators of pain in hospitalised dogs. It is also unlikely that pupil dilation will be a useful tool in the assessment of pain.