2007-08: Project Four
Does epidural dosing give better pain relief for cats?
Dr. Tanya Duke (WCVM), Drs. Paulo Steagall and Stelio Luna (Sao Paulo State University, Brazil), Dr. Polly Taylor (Ely, U.K.) and Dr. Peter Gilbert (WCVM).
An international team of researchers is investigating the effectiveness of administering painkilling drugs to cats through epidural catheters. Previous studies have shown that the epidural route produces long-lasting pain relief using lower doses of the drugs, plus there are fewer side effects in comparison to systemically administering drugs.
During the study, the research team will work with a group of eight cats to investigate the epidural use of an opioid called buprenorphine and an alpha-2 agonist called medetomidine. The team will also test the effectiveness of epidurally administering a combination of both painkilling drugs. Researchers will measure the analgesic duration of each treatment using a mechanical and thermal threshold device that detects when a drug’s effectiveness is wearing off on each cat.
If results show that epidural administration of these drugs is more effective, these treatment protocols may eventually be used in feline patients that are in postoperative or critical care.
