Josephine Anderson
Pronouns: She/Her
Research Mentor(s): Alvaro Rojas-Peña
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Department of Surgery-Transplantation / Medicine
Program:
Authors: Josephine Anderson, Daniela Pelaez Palacio, Jensyn VanZalen, William Strobe, Megan Stein, Robert Bartlett, Orsolya Lautner-Csorba, Alvaro Rojas-Pena
Session: Session 6: 3:40 pm – 4:30 pm
Poster: 7
Abstract
Intro: In large animal research, the need for effective pain management techniques is critical for ensuring optimal animal welfare and animal healthcare without affecting experimental data. This study aims to compare the usage of intramuscular buprenorphine, a short-term analgesic; versus a transdermal fentanyl patch analgesic placed previous to surgical incision combined with buprenorphine, and its effectiveness at producing proper analgesia. Methods: This interventional prospective study, executed from September to December 2023, employs a randomized controlled trial design. 10 healthy sheep (37.37 – 53.18 kg) underwent surgical procedure for veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV ECMO) via vascular access (jugular and femoral cannulation, see Figure 1) for a duration of 5 days. 7 out of 10 animals were included according to inclusion criteria and were allocated into one of two groups: 1) (n=3) Buprenorphine (0.05mg/kg IV) q 6H; and 2) (n=4) Transdermal fentanyl patch (100µg) + buprenorphine (0.05mg/kg IV) q 6H. Assessment of these two pain management techniques were recorded utilizing an objective pain score response according to standard guidelines for laboratory animals and pressure data taken; variables included: heart rate (HR) (bpm), respiratory rate (bpm), neurological alertness (can be alerted vs lethargy), appetite (presence vs absence), animal behavior seen as pain (see Figure 2), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) increase. Results: 7 animals completed 3 or more days of support. On average males required fewer additional doses of analgesics (1 ± 1) in comparison to females (2.6 ± 1.4). Male ovines also had a lower average pain score (0.34 ± 0.14) than females (0.4679 ± 0.2703). Buprenorphine alone showed lesser pain scores in comparison with the combined therapy group (see Figures 3 and 4). Buprenorphine alone also showed an overall lower redose rate needed when compared to animals that were given both analgesics (1.33 ± 0.47 vs 2.7 ± 1.7) (see Figure 5). Respiratory rate and neurological alertness do not seem to be good surrogates of better or worse analgesia states. Conclusion: The use of IV buprenorphine alone provides a better analgesia effect, in comparison with the proposed alternative. Further studies need to be performed to increase the power of these results.
