Assessing Pain Control Efficacy of Meloxicam and Ketoprofen When Compounded with Iron Dextran in Nursing Piglets Using A Navigation Chute

摘要

Post-procedural castration pain control in piglets in Canada is managed with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as meloxicam and ketoprofen. While combining NSAIDs with iron dextran (ID) reduces piglet injections and handling, it is unknown if this will affect NSAID pain control efficacy. This study evaluated the time it takes a pig to navigate an obstacle chute after surgical castration as an objective measure of pain control. The differences in navigation time of pigs given NSAIDs alone or mixed with ID prior to castration were compared. The results indicate that castrated piglets given either NSAIDs alone or mixed with ID navigated the chute as fast as non-castrated piglets, and faster than castrated piglets not given NSAIDs. This provides evidence that when NSAIDs are combined with iron and administered as a single injection, the NSAIDs remain effective at controlling castration pain.