Use of non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs in porcine health management

Objective Treatment of inflammation and pain management is an important topic in the welfare of pigs. It is very difficult for veterinary practitioners to choose the most appropriate product for a certain problem. This review aims to summarise and discuss the characteristics of different non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), as well as paracetamol and metamizole, available for pigs in the European Union. Methods The databases Pubmed, Google Scholar, CliniPharm CliniTox and European Medicines Agency were searched. Relevant terms (eg,‘meloxicam’, ‘fever’, ‘swine’, ‘pig’, ‘inflammation’, ‘castration’, ‘pain’) were used to search for original articles, reviews and books. Only peer‐reviewed articles were used. References from studies were also analysed in order to find additional relevant studies. Conclusion Studies which have investigated the efficacy of NSAIDs for different conditions, using different treatment regimens, are scarce. Most studies focused on the efficacy of NSAID‐related pain alleviation in piglet castration, as well as the anti‐inflammatory potential of NSAIDs in experimental inflammation models. Little research has been carried out on the use of metamizole, tolfenamic acid, paracetamol and sodium salicylate and their effect in pigs.