Pain Management

Sending ailing dogs home with oral opioids may not be an effective way to manage their pain, experts report in a free, online continuing education program recently developed for veterinarians. In light of growing evidence that such drugs don’t work well in dogs – added to the fact that humans sometimes abuse opioids prescribed for pets – the common practice of prescribing oral opioids for dogs in pain should be reexamined, the experts say.

Acute and chronic pain in cats can be hard to identify by both owners and the veterinary team. Read the article for some tips on recognizing feline pain.

As a veterinary nurse, you are in a position to recognize signs of pain in your patient and to make management recommendations.

Veterinary nurses will learn to identify acute pain in feline patients and understand analgesic options to improve awareness and veterinary care.

General practice veterinarians often refer clients and patients to specialty surgery centers or veterinary teaching hospitals for various orthopedic procedures including but not limited to tibial plateau leveling osteotomy, fracture repair, and arthroscopy. However, with the advent of traveling board certified veterinary surgeons, many of these procedures are being performed in the general practitioner’s clinic, …

Veterinary medicine has made great strides in the treatment of chronic pain in cats. The veterinary paradigm has shifted from questioning whether animals feel pain to recognizing and treating their pain.

Information on pain management and assessment in veterinary patients has grown tremendously. This article provides an overview of common pharmaceuticals as well as advanced multimodal techniques to help veterinary technicians realize their role as patient advocates in minimizing pain.

When the “regular” restraint techniques used at her clinic didn’t work for her, Summer Brooks knew there had to be a better way of handling patients—for them as well as for herself.

Pain has multiple negative effects that can delay or prevent healing, and veterinary technicians play a central role in pain management. Understanding pain, its consequences, and how it can be addressed helps veterinary technicians ensure that patients are comfortable during hospitalization and when they go home.

Pain management is also a critical component of a comprehensive dental service. This article gives an overview of the physiology of pain, offers a discussion of a variety of analgesic agents, and provides information to help create an effective pain management protocol for dental patients.