Abstract
Objective
To evaluate thermal antinociception from intravenous (IV) administration of hydromorphone
alone or followed by butorphanol or naloxone in cats.
Study design
Randomized, controlled, masked, crossover design.
Animals
A group of eight adult female cats.
Methods
Cats were administered six treatments of two IV injections 30 minutes apart: treatments
S–S, two 0.9% saline; H–S, hydromorphone (0.1 mg kg−1) and saline; H–LB, hydromorphone and butorphanol (0.02 mg kg−1); H–MB, hydromorphone and butorphanol (0.1 mg kg−1); H–HB, hydromorphone and butorphanol (0.2 mg kg−1); H–N, hydromorphone and naloxone (0.04 mg kg−1). Skin temperature (ST), thermal threshold (TT) and sedation score (SS) were recorded
before (baseline) and for 8 hours after the first injection. Percentage maximum possible
effect (%MPE), thermal excursion (TE), TT, SS and ST were compared using two-way repeated
measures anova or Friedman test followed by Tukey’s or Dunn’s multiple comparisons test when appropriate.
Significance was set at p ≤ 0.05.
Results
Data from seven cats were analyzed. There were no significant differences among treatments
in baseline values, SS and within S–S over time. Compared with respective 0.5 hour
values following hydromorphone administration, %MPE was significantly lower at 4–8
hours for H–S; at 3–8 hours for H–LB; at 4–8 hours for H–MB; at 6–8 hours for H–HB
and at 1–8 hours for H–N. Compared with respective 0.5 hour values, TE was significantly
lower at 4–8 hours for H–S; at 3–8 hours for H–LB; at 2 and 4–8 hours for H–MB; at
6 and 8 hours for H–HB and at 1–8 hours for H–N.
Conclusions and clinical relevance
Butorphanol and naloxone reduced hydromorphone-induced thermal antinociception. Butorphanol
preserved hydromorphone antinociceptive properties better than naloxone. Butorphanol
is recommended during non-life-threatening scenarios as a partial reversal agent for
hydromorphone in cats.
Keywords
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Veterinary Anaesthesia and AnalgesiaAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Comparison of the analgesic efficacy of hydromorphone and oxymorphone in dogs and cats: a randomized blinded study.Vet Anaesth Analg. 2008; 35: 341-347
- Opioid peptides and pain regulation studied in animal models.Clin Neuropharmacol. 1992; 15: 52A-53A
- Clinical actions of fentanyl and buprenorphine. The significance of receptor binding.Br J Anaesth. 1985; 57: 192-196
- Antinociceptive effects of oxymorphone-butorphanol-acepromazine combination in cats.Vet Surg. 1998; 27: 466-472
- Postoperative hypoxemia and hypercarbia in healthy dogs undergoing routine ovariohysterectomy or castration and receiving butorphanol or hydromorphone for analgesia.J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2003; 222: 330-336
- Naloxone reversal of oxymorphone effects in dogs.Am J Vet Res. 1989; 50: 1854-1858
- Morphine hyperthermia in the rat: an action on the central thermostats.Eur J Pharmacol. 1976; 36: 33-39
- A thermal threshold testing device for evaluation of analgesics in cats.Res Vet Sci. 2002; 72: 205-210
- Reversal of oxymorphone sedation by naloxone, nalmefene, and butorphanol.Vet Surg. 1990; 19: 398-403
- Behavioral changes produced in the cat by acute and chronic morphine injection and naloxone precipitated withdrawal.Eur J Pharmacol. 1979; 57: 387-397
- Release of substance P from the cat spinal cord.J Physiol. 1987; 391: 141-167
- Interactions among aging, gender, and gonadectomy effects upon morphine antinociception in rats.Physiol Behav. 1993; 54: 45-53
- Evaluation of the quality of the recovery after administration of propofol or alfaxalone for induction of anaesthesia in dogs anaesthetized for magnetic resonance imaging.Vet Anaesth Analg. 2012; 39: 151-159
- Antinociceptive effects of butorphanol, buprenorphine, or both, administered intramuscularly in cats.Am J Vet Res. 2007; 68: 699-703
- Opioid analgesic drugs.in: Riviere J.E. Papich M.G. Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics. 10th edn. John Wiley & Sons Inc., USA2018: 305-347
- Antinociceptive effects of hydromorphone, butorphanol, or the combination in cats.J Vet Intern Med. 2004; 18: 190-195
- Use of thermal threshold response to evaluate the antinociceptive effects of butorphanol in cats.Am J Vet Res. 2004; 65: 1085-1089
- Animal models of nociception.Pharmacol Rev. 2001; 53: 597-652
- Ability of flumazenil, butorphanol, and naloxone to reverse the anesthetic effects of oxymorphone-diazepam in dogs.J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1996; 209: 776-779
- Severe hypertension induced by naloxone.Am J Med Sci. 1985; 290: 70-72
- Determination of antinociceptive efficacy of drugs in mice using different water temperatures in a tail-immersion test.J Pharmacol Methods. 1985; 13: 351-357
- mu-Opioid receptor mRNA expression in the rat CNS: comparison to mu-receptor binding.Brain Res. 1994; 643: 245-265
- Butorphanol tartrate for partial reversal of oxymorphone-induced postoperative respiratory depression in the dog.Vet Surg. 1994; 23: 67-74
- An examination of the interactions between the antinociceptive effects of morphine and various mu-opioids: the role of intrinsic efficacy and stimulus intensity.Anesth Analg. 1999; 88: 407-413
- Hydromorphone: a cost-effective alternative to the use of oxymorphone.Can Vet J. 2000; 41: 135-137
- Effects of opioids and anesthetic drugs on body temperature in cats.Vet Anaesth Analg. 2010; 37: 35-43
- Morphine effects on cardiac output and regional blood flow distribution in conscious dogs.Anesthesiology. 1981; 55: 236-243
- Antinociceptive and side-effects of hydromorphone after subcutaneous administration in cats.J Feline Med Surg. 2009; 11: 76-81
- Naloxone dosage for opioid reversal: current evidence and clinical implications.Ther Adv Drug Saf. 2018; 9: 63-88
- Thermal antinociceptive, sedative and cardiovascular effects of Governing Vessel 1 dexmedetomidine pharmacopuncture in healthy cats.Vet Anaesth Analg. 2019; 46: 529-537
- The present and future of opioid analgesics in small animal practice.J Vet Pharmacol Ther. 2017; 40: 315-326
- The lack of analgesic use (oligoanalgesia) in small animal practice.J Small Anim Pract. 2017; 58: 543-554
- Antinociceptive effects of intravenous administration of hydromorphone hydrochloride alone or followed by buprenorphine hydrochloride or butorphanol tartrate to healthy conscious cats.Am J Vet Res. 2016; 77: 245-251
- Analgesia for cats after ovariohysterectomy with either buprenorphine or carprofen alone or in combination.Vet Rec. 2009; 164: 359-363
- Selective opioid inhibition of small nociceptive neurons.Science. 1995; 270: 1366-1369
- G-protein-gated potassium channels containing Kir3.2 and Kir3.3 subunits mediate the acute inhibitory effects of opioids on locus ceruleus neurons.J Neurosci. 2002; 22: 4328-4334
- High dose naloxone produces cerebral vasodilation.Neurosurgery. 1984; 15: 192-197
- Uniform assessment and ranking of opioid μ receptor binding constants for selected opioid drugs.Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2011; 59: 385-390
- Comparison of perioperative analgesic efficacy between methadone and butorphanol in cats.J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2013; 243: 844-850
- Dose-related thermal antinociceptive effects of intravenous hydromorphone in cats.Vet Anaesth Analg. 2007; 34: 132-138
Article info
Publication history
Published online: April 29, 2019
Accepted:
April 19,
2019
Received:
November 7,
2018
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists and American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.