Stacie A. Gould

Pain Management in the Neonatal Piglet During Routine Management Procedures. Part 1: A Systematic Review of Randomized and Non-Randomized Intervention Studies

Abstract Routine procedures carried out on piglets (i.e. castration, tail docking, teeth clipping, and ear notching) are considered painful. Unfortunately the efficacy of current pain mitigation modalities is poorly understood. The aim of this systematic review was to synthesize the existing primary scientific literature regarding the effectiveness of pain management interventions used for routine procedures on piglets. The review question was, ‘In piglets under twenty-eight days old, undergoing castration, tail docking, teeth clipping, and/or methods of identification that involve cutting of the ear tissue, what is the effect of pain mitigation compared with no pain mitigation on behavioral and non-behavioral outcomes that indicate procedural pain and post-procedural pain?’ A review protocol was designed a priori. Data sources used were Agricola (EBSCO), CAB Abstracts (Thomson Reuters), PubMed, Web of Science (Thomson Reuters), BIOSIS Previews (Thomson Reuters), and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text. No restrictions on year of publication or language were placed on the search. Eligible studies assessed an intervention designed to mitigate the pain of the procedures of interest and included a comparison group that did not receive an intervention. Eligible non-English studies were translated using a translation service. Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts for relevance using pre-defined questions. Data were extracted from relevant articles onto pre-defined forms. From the 2203 retrieved citations forty publications, containing 52 studies met the eligibility criteria. In 40 studies, piglets underwent castration only. In seven studies, piglets underwent tail docking only. In one study, piglets underwent teeth clipping only, and in one study piglets underwent ear notching only. Three studies used multiple procedures. Thirty-two trial arms assessed general anesthesia protocols, 30 trial arms assessed local anesthetic protocols, and 28 trial arms assessed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) protocols. Forty-one trial arms were controls where piglets received either placebo or no treatment. Forty-five outcomes were extracted from the studies, however only the results from studies that assessed cortisol (six studies), β-endorphins (one study), vocalisations (nine studies), and pain-related behaviors (nine studies) are reported. Other outcomes were reported in only one or two studies. Confident decision making will likely be difficult based on this body of work because lack of comprehensive reporting precludes calculation of the magnitude of pain mitigation for most outcomes.

Pain management in the neonatal piglet during routine management procedures. Part 2 :Grading the quality of evidence and the strength of recommendations

Abstract Piglets reared in swine production in the USA undergo painful procedures that include castration, tail docking, teeth clipping, and identification with ear notching or tagging. These procedures are usually performed without pain mitigation. The objective of this project was to develop recommendations for pain mitigation in 1- to 28-day-old piglets undergoing these procedures. The National Pork Board funded project to develop recommendations for pain mitigation in piglets. Recommendation development followed a defined multi-step process that included an evidence summary and estimates of the efficacies of interventions. The results of a systematic review of the interventions were reported in a companion paper. This manuscript describes the recommendation development process and the final recommendations. Recommendations were developed for three interventions (CO2/O2 general anesthesia, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and lidocaine) for use during castration. The ability to make strong recommendations was limited by low-quality evidence and strong certainty about variation in stakeholder values and preferences. The panel strongly recommended against the use of a CO2/O2 general anesthesia mixture, weakly recommended for the use of NSAIDs and weakly recommended against the use of lidocaine for pain mitigation during castration of 1- to 28-day-old piglets.

Evaluating approaches to measuring ocular pain in bovine calves with corneal scarification and infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis–associated corneal ulcerations

Infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis (IBK) is a common ocular disease in cattle, associated with a 6.8 to 13.6 kg decrease in weaning weight. Antibiotic therapy is available but it is unclear if pain mitigation as an adjunct therapy would reduce the weight loss associated with IBK. Before assessing the impact of pain mitigation therapies, it is first necessary to validate approaches to qualifying ocular pain. The objective of this study was to evaluate approaches to qualifying ocular pain in bovine calves (Bos taurus) with IBK. Our a priori assumption was that scarification or corneal ulcerations consistent with IBK are painful compared to normal eyes. To quantify this difference in pain, we assessed 4 tools: pressure algometry-mechanical nociceptive threshold (PA-MNT), corneal touch thresholds (CTT) obtained with the use of a Cochet-Bonnet aesthesiometer, and assessment for the presence of blepharospasm and photophobia as metrics for pain. Using a 1-eye randomized controlled challenge trial, 31 calves with healthy eyes were randomly allocated to treatment groups, and then a left or right eye was randomly assigned for corneal scarification and inoculation with Moraxella bovoculi or Moraxella bovis. A repeated measures analysis of variance was used for PA-MNT, with significance set at P < 0.05. A log (base 10) transformation was used to stabilize the variance, and Tukeys t tests were used to test differences between assessment days for each landmark. Calves had statistically significantly lower PA-MNT scores (which indicates more pain) the day after scarification relative to baseline measurements (4 d before scarification). For example, at 1 landmark the median PA-MNT (kg/force) prescarification was 4.82 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.92-5.93) and 3.43 (95% CI: 2.79-4.22) postscarification. These data suggest PA-MNT may be a tool for quantifying ocular pain in calves. No differences (P < 0.1) in PA-MNT scores between scarified and not-scarified eyes were detected for any landmark on any day. This result suggests that the pain response occurs over the entire face, not just the affected eye. Corneal ulcerations consistent with IBK were not associated with statistically significant differences in PA-MNT or CTT at eye or calf levels. Not surprisingly, scarified eyes were more likely to exhibit blepharospasm and photophobia compared to healthy eyes. Due to blepharospasm, the use of the Cochet-Bonnet to evaluate corneal sensitivity by CTT was of limited value.

An evaluation of the prevalence of Bovine herpesvirus 1 abortions based on diagnostic submissions to five U.S.-based veterinary diagnostic laboratories

Bovine herpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1) is 1 of several viruses considered to be causal agents of bovine abortion. The current retrospective study examined data on bovine abortion submissions from 5 veterinary diagnostic laboratories from 2000 to 2011. The objective of the study was to describe prevalence of BoHV-1–associated abortion in submissions at veterinary diagnostic laboratories. There were 3 specific aims: 1) to examine the proportion of BoHV-1–related abortions with the introduction of new diagnostic assays such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), 2) to evaluate the agreement of the histopathology report of the abortion submissions and the result of the assay used, and 3) to evaluate if there was an association between farm history of vaccination against BoHV-1 and BoHV-1–positive abortion submissions. An extended Mantel–Haenszel χ2 for linear trend was used to analyze the prevalence of BoHV-1 over the study period and showed that collectively there is evidence of an increase of positive BoHV-1 abortions (P < 0.001). The comparison of the proportion of BoHV-1–positive submissions pre- and postadoption of PCR was not significant (P = 0.25). Using Cohen kappa coefficient test of agreement, a kappa value of 0.81 (P < 0.001) was found, suggesting high agreement of lesions reported and assay result. It was found that using a χ2 test, a P value of 0.068 for nonmatched data (i.e., a history of vaccination against BoHV-1 in the herd) was associated with reduced detection of BoHV-1–positive abortion submissions.

Schirmer tear test I and rebound tonometry findings in healthy calves

OBJECTIVE To describe Schirmer tear test I and rebound tonometry findings in healthy bovine calves. ANIMALS STUDIED Thirty-three clinically normal dairy breed calves of mean (SD) 11 (1.1) weeks (range, 9.3-13.3 weeks) of age were evaluated. PROCEDURES A Schirmer tear test I was performed on each eye followed by tonometry, using a TonoVet(®) without topical anesthesia. We report means (SD) and statistical analysis of data for each assay. RESULTS For both Schirmer tear test (STT) I and tonometry, significant differences were not found between fellow eyes (P = 0.1536 and P = 0.83, respectively). The mean (SD) STT I value of all eyes was 20.4 (5.0) mm/min (range, 9-34 mm/min) while the mean (SD) intraocular pressure (IOP) value of all eyes was 15.2 (5.2) mmHg (range, 7-25 mmHg). CONCLUSIONS This study reports normal data for the STT I and rebound tonometry in calves. This data may be useful in complete ophthalmic examinations of cattle, guiding diagnosis of glaucoma, uveitis, and keratoconjunctivitis sicca. However, results of these diagnostic modalities must be interpreted in light of clinical signs, given the wide range of normal values obtained in this study.

Corneal sensitivity in healthy bovine calves

OBJECTIVE To evaluate corneal sensitivity as measured by the corneal touch threshold in healthy bovine calves. ANIMALS STUDIED Twelve clinically normal male calves with predominantly Holstein genetics and a median age of 76.5 days (range, 67-92 days). PROCEDURES Corneal touch threshold (CTT) of the central cornea was measured in both eyes of each calf using a Cochet-Bonnet aesthesiometer. RESULTS The mean ± standard deviation corneal touch threshold of all eyes was 1.33 ± 1.1 g/mm(2) (range, 0.62-66.15 g/mm(2) ), corresponding to a filament length of 34.56 ± 8.02 mm (range, 14-47.5 mm). There was no significant difference between fellow eyes. CONCLUSIONS Cochet-Bonnet aesthesiometry was well tolerated in all 12 calves using a modified head restraint. Calves in this study may have a relatively sensitive central cornea compared to adult cattle and some other species; however, wide variation among individuals and eyes may be possible. Studies utilizing larger calf populations are necessary to establish reference ranges.

Evaluating phosphorus release by phytase in diets fed to growing pigs that are not deficient in phosphorus

Microbial phytase is widely used to enhance digestibility of phytate-P. By tradition, diets with P content well below requirement are used to quantify phytate-P release by phytase, but P-adequate diets may be more physiologically relevant. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of phytase on P digestion and metabolism and develop a P release curve for phytase in P-adequate diets (above requirement according to NRC, 2012), and to compare these effects in a P-deficient diet. Three replicates of 24 barrows each (BW = 23.0 ± 1.8 kg) were randomly assigned to 1 of 8 dietary treatments, housed in individual pens for 21 d, then moved to metabolism crates for 5 d urine and fecal collections. A basal corn-soybean meal diet (P-adequate, A) was formulated at 0.36% standardized total tract digestible (STTD) P and total Ca:STTD P of 1.83. Phytase was added to A at 200 (A200), 400 (A400), 600 (A600), and 800 (A800) phytase units (FTU)/kg. A positive control diet (PC) was formulated using monocalcium phosphate (MCP) to increase STTD P by 0.16% to 0.52%, the expected STTD P release of 800 FTU/kg. A P-deficient diet (D) was formulated by reducing MCP to achieve 0.21% STTD P, and 200 FTU phytase/kg was added to D for D200. Pig was the experimental unit, and replicate and dietary treatment were fixed effects. Orthogonal polynomial contrasts were used to test linear and quadratic effects of phytase within A, A200, A400, A600, and A800. Phytase increased percent apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) and STTD of P (quadratic P < 0.001), and quantity of absorbed P (linear P < 0.001; quadratic P = 0.069). Urinary P increased linearly with phytase (P < 0.001) and retained P also increased (linear P = 0.001, quadratic P = 0.094). Phytate-P release was estimated to be 0.049, 0.080, 0.093, and 0.09% STTD P for 200, 400, 600, and 800 FTU/kg, respectively. It appears that the effect of phytase may be lower in P-adequate diets as compared to P-deficient diets, given that there was a 12% improvement for A200 versus A, and a 28% improvement in STTD P for D200 versus D. In conclusion, phytase improved P digestibility and retention in P-adequate diets, and P digestibility was used to estimate the quantity of P released by phytase. Further research investigating P release by phytase in P-adequate diets, rather than P-deficient diets, may be preferable.

A dietary carbohydrase blend improved intestinal barrier function and growth rate in weaned pigs fed higher fiber diets1

Abstract The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary xylanase (X) and a carbohydrase enzyme blend (EB: cellulase, β-glucanase, and xylanase) on nutrient digestibility, intestinal barrier integrity, inflammatory status, and growth performance in weaned piglets fed higher fiber diets. A total of 460 pigs (6.43 ± 0.06 kg BW; F25 × 6.0 Genetiporc) were blocked by initial BW and pens (n = 12 per treatment) were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 dietary treatments. The diets included a higher fiber unsupplemented control diet (CON) and the CON supplemented with 0.01% X, 0.01% EB, or both enzymes, arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial. The diets were based on corn, soybean meal, corn distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), and wheat middlings. Pigs had 7 d to adapt to the environment and consumed the same commercial diet. Pigs were fed the experimental diets for 28 d with free access to feed and water. Body weight and feed disappearance were recorded weekly. One pig with BW closest to the pen average from each pen was selected and moved to metabolism crates on day 16 and intragastric gavaged a solution of lactulose and mannitol on day 22 followed by 12-h urine collection. Feces were collected from day 23 to 25. Intestinal tissues and mucosal scrapings were collected on day 28. Data were analyzed using PROC MIXED of SAS (9.4). Xylanase, EB, and their interaction were fixed effects and block was a random effect. The EB, but not X, increased pig BW and improved ADG over 28 d (P < 0.05). Neither carbohydrase impacted ADFI, G:F, or apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of DM, GE, or CP. The EB improved ATTD of ADF (32.45 vs. 26.57%; P < 0.01), but had no effect on NDF. Unexpectedly, X reduced ATTD of NDF and ADF (P < 0.01). The EB reduced urinary lactulose:mannitol and increased ileal claudin-3 mRNA abundance (P < 0.05), indicating improved small intestinal barrier integrity. There was a X × EB interaction on ileal secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) concentration (P < 0.05); in the absence of X, EB decreased sIgA compared to CON, but this effect disappeared in the presence of X. The EB also reduced ileal IL-22 mRNA abundance (P < 0.05), probably indicating decreased immune activation. In conclusion, EB but not X enhanced growth rate of weaned pigs fed higher fiber diets, which may be partly explained by the improved small intestinal barrier integrity and reduced immune activation, rather than improvement in nutrient digestibility.