Current attitudes to,and use of,peri-operative analgesia in dogs and cats by veterinarians in New Zealand

AIM: To investigate the attitudes of veterinary practitioners in New Zealand to pain and analgesia, and their use of analgesic drugs, in dogs and cats.

METHODS: A questionnaire posted to 1,200 practising veterinarians was used to gather information about the use of analgesia in dogs and cats, assessment of pain, attitudes to pain relief, analgesic drugs and procedures used, factors affecting choice of analgesic agent, and veterinary demographics, continuing education and staffing.

RESULTS: Three hundred and twenty questionnaires with useable data were returned, a response rate of 28%. Male and female veterinarians were evenly represented. The analgesic agents most commonly used were morphine (opioids) and carprofen (a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug; NSAID). Use of peri-operative pain relief ranged from 50% for castration of cats to 91% for fracture repair in dogs. For most procedures, female veterinarians scored pain at a significantly higher level than their male colleagues. Fifty-eight percent of respondents considered their knowledge in the area of assessment and treatment of pain was adequate.

CONCLUSIONS: This survey was considered representative of veterinarians working in companion animal practice in New Zealand. Results indicated a relatively high use of peri-operative analgesia, including both pre-emptive and multi-modal analge- sia, in cats and dogs, although there was still some disparity between the perception of how painful a procedure was and the consequent use of pain relief.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The establishment of current attitudes and practices indicates to practising veterinarians how their own use of analgesics compares with that of their colleagues. It also provides information to educators on potential areas of focus, given that 42% of respondents felt their knowledge in the area of assessment and treatment of pain was inadequate.     

Ejaculate Fractioning Effect on Llama Sperm Head Morphometry as Assessed by the ISAS® CASA system

South American camelid sperm characteristics are poorly known compared with those of other domestic animals. The long‐term duration of ejaculation makes difficult to gather all the seminal fluid, implying possible ejaculation portion losses. Thus, the aim of this research was to evaluate the characteristics of the morphology and morphometry of the spermatozoa change during ejaculation. The morphometric characterization was tested on nine specimens of the Lanuda breed, using a special artificial vagina. In five of the animals, a fractioning of the ejaculate was performed by taking samples every 5 min. for a total of 20 min. Air‐dried seminal smears were stained with Hemacolor and mounted permanently with Eukitt. Morphometric analysis was carried out with the morphometry module of the ISAS^® CASA system. Almost 350 cells were analysed per sample, with a total number of 3207 spermatozoa. Mean values were given as follows: length: 5.51 μm; width: 3.38 μm; area: 17.75 μm²; perimeter: 14.8 μm; ellipticity: 0.24; elongation: 0.56; rugosity: 0.87; regularity: 1.07; and shape factor: 1.41. Different animals showed differences in their morphometric values. When we compared the values from different fractions, only two samples showed differences in morphometric parameter values and four samples showed differences in shape parameters. Multivariate analysis allowed the size classification of the cells into three classes and five classes of shapes. The distribution of classes among fractions showed no differences. Despite the individual morphometric differences observed in some fractions, the characteristics of the sperm head morphometry can be considered constant along the ejaculatory period in the llama.     

Episodic recruitment of young Prochilodus lineatus (Valenciennes, 1836) (Characiformes: Prochilodontidae) during high discharge in a floodplain lake of the River Paraná, Argentina

Prochilodus lineatus (Val.) is one of the main target species of South American freshwater fisheries. The following null hypotheses regarding juvenile recruitment of P. lineatus were tested: (a) recruitment is not determined by variations in larval abundance and (b) recruitment is not determined by variations in discharge. For this purpose, variations in abundance of larvae in main channel drift and monthly captures of juveniles in a floodplain lake of the River Paraná were examined weekly between 2009 and 2016. Mean annual abundances of larval densities and CPUE of juveniles were correlated with a set of hydrometric variables. A positive correlation was found between the abundance of juveniles with high and persistent flood pulses. By contrast, larval abundance was not correlated with juvenile abundance. Pronounced contrast was found in the recruitment of P. lineatus between years of high and low discharge, which supports the hypothesis that floods are the main determining factor for recruitment of this species.