Comparison of the postoperative analgesic effects of cimicoxib, buprenorphine and their combination in healthy dogs undergoing ovariohysterectomy

Abstract Objective To determine the noninferior postoperative analgesic efficacy of cimicoxib compared to buprenorphine following elective ovariohysterectomy in healthy bitches. Study design Prospective, randomized, blinded, controlled clinical trial. Animals A total of 63 healthy dogs. Methods To provide perioperative analgesia, cimicoxib 2 mg kg−1 (orally), buprenorphine 0.02 mg kg−1 (two doses, intramuscularly), or both drugs combined, were administered. Dogs were sedated with acepromazine and anaesthetized with propofol and isoflurane. Pain was assessed with the short form of the Glasgow Composite Pain Scale (GCPS), a pain numerical rating scale (NRS) and mechanical nociceptive thresholds (MNT), preoperatively and at 1, 2, 4, 6, 20 and 23 hours after extubation. Sedation was also scored at the same time points. A noninferiority approach was employed to determine the efficacy of cimicoxib compared to buprenorphine. Treatment groups were compared with parametric [analysis of variance ( anova ), t test] and nonparametric test as appropriate (Kruskal–Wallis, chi-square). Results The GCPS, pain NRS and MNT tests demonstrated noninferiority of cimicoxib compared to buprenorphine (rejection of inferiority: p  Conclusions and clinical relevance Cimicoxib has noninferior postoperative analgesic efficacy compared to buprenorphine, and both drugs have comparable analgesic effects for the control of postoperative pain in bitches undergoing ovariohysterectomy.