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The negative effects of pain are a constant concern in the surgical management of animals, leading to the search for new drugs or more effective analgesic protocols to control this negative emotion. This study aimed to evaluate the nociceptive response of cannabidiol (CBD) alone and in combination with meloxicam using infrared pupillometry in female dogs undergoing elective ovariohysterectomy (OVH) under isoflurane anesthesia. A total of 60 female dogs of different breeds were included. These dogs were randomly assigned to four study groups according to the treatment: Control Group (G0: n = 15) receiving saline solution; group premedicated with meloxicam at a dose of 0.2 mg Kg-1 IV (GMelox: n = 15). Postoperatively this drug was used at 0.1 mg Kg-1 IV every 24 h; the CBD-treated Group (GCBD: n = 15) at a dose of 2 mg Kg-1 orally in the preoperative. Postoperatively was administrated every 12 h; and the Group premedicated with the combination of meloxicam and CBD (GMelox/CBD: n = 15) Meloxicam at a dose of 0.2 mg Kg-1 IV preoperatively, and 0.1 mg Kg-1 IV during the postoperative. CBD at a dose of 2 mg Kg-1 orally in the preoperative, and every 12 h in the postoperative. Treatments were administered for 48 postoperative hours. After OVH, the pupillary neurologic index, pupillary size, minimum diameter (MIN), percentage change, constriction latency (Lat), constriction velocity, and maximum constriction velocity were recorded as pupillometric variables in both eyes during events (E): Baseline (30 min before drug administration), E30 min, E1h, E2h, E3h, E4h, E8h, E12h, E24h, and E48h. The Short-Form of the Glasgow Composite Measure Pain Scale (GCMPS-SF) was used to assess pain during the same events. Overall, it was observed that the pupillometric variables Size, MIN., and Lat. were significantly higher in G0 compared to the other groups during E30 min, E1h, and E2h (p = 0.03), indicating greater pupil dilation in G0 animals. Additionally, no statistically significant differences were observed in GCMPS-SF between GMelox, GCBD, and GMelox/CBD during the postoperative period (p > 0.05). In contrast, the scores were statistically different compared to G0 (p = 0.00001), where all animals in this group received rescue analgesia at 2 h post-surgery. According to pupillometry and scores on the GCMPS-SF scale, it was observed that monotherapy with cannabidiol provides a similar analgesic effect to meloxicam alone or in combination with cannabidiol to manage acute pain in dogs. Similarly, these findings suggest that infrared pupillometry could be a tool for recognizing acute pain in dogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Infrared thermography can indirectly assess peripheral vascular diseases because skin surface temperature depends on blood flow and heat dissipation through skin microvasculature. The present review aims to summarize and analyze the application of infrared thermography in veterinary medicine as a method to indirectly assess peripheral vascular integrity and its relation to the amount of radiated heat and as a diagnostic technique for tissue viability, degree of damage, and wound care. Although additional research is needed to establish the utility of thermal imaging to monitor vascular integrity in veterinary medicine, studies performed in animals diagnosed with thromboembolisms or thermal impairment due to neuropathies or are in need of burn wound management suggest a promising application of infrared thermography to evaluate peripheral vascular alterations and tissue viability. Infrared thermography (IRT) is a technique that indirectly assesses peripheral blood circulation and its resulting amount of radiated heat. Due to these properties, thermal imaging is currently applied in human medicine to noninvasively evaluate peripheral vascular disorders such as thrombosis, thromboembolisms, and other ischemic processes. Moreover, tissular damage (e.g., burn injuries) also causes microvasculature compromise. Therefore, thermography can be applied to determine the degree of damage according to the viability of tissues and blood vessels, and it can also be used as a technique to monitor skin transplant procedures such as grafting and free flaps. The present review aims to summarize and analyze the application of IRT in veterinary medicine as a method to indirectly assess peripheral vascular integrity and its relation to the amount of radiated heat and as a diagnostic technique for tissue viability, degree of damage, and wound care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Preventing neonatal mortality is a critical aspect of canine perinatology. Among the leading causes of mortality, a low vitality score at birth, hypothermia, hypoxia, and hypoglycemia can be mentioned. This study aimed to assess vitality, blood values, and the degree of meconium staining on newborns' skin concerning their birth weight. It is concluded that larger newborns tend to present greater problems in surviving. Neonatal mortality in dogs reaches up to 40%. Due to the high rates, promptly detecting the causes and preventing newborns from dying are extremely important. Vitality evaluation, blood parameters, and the degree of meconium staining on the skin are valuable resources in canine perinatology. In this study, 435 puppies from 85 bitches close to parturition were recruited and divided into four quartiles according to the puppy's birth weight: Q1 (127–200 g) n = 110 puppies, Q2 (201–269 g) n = 108 puppies, Q3 (270–388 g) n = 108 puppies, and Q4 (389–464 g) n = 109 puppies. This experimental article aimed to report the effect of birth weight on the blood profile variables, the vitality of newborn puppies, and the meconium staining degree, integrating these three aspects. It was concluded that the weight of newborns was correlated with the degree of meconium staining, presenting more cases of severe meconium staining in the puppies of the highest birth weight group. The weight of the newborns was correlated with a higher number of stillbirths and alterations in the blood variables, showing the most severe cases of metabolic acidosis, hypoxia, and hypoglycemia in the puppies of the Q4 quartile. On the contrary, no statistically significant correlations were found between the weight of newborns and vitality. Nevertheless, the analysis of the results showed that the most vigorous puppies were found at Q1; however, at minute 60 after birth (AB), all the puppies in the four quartiles standardized their vitality scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Routine practices such as teeth clipping (TEE), tail docking (TAI) and ear tagging (TAG) can be considered controversial due to the potential pain or stress they might cause. This study sought to evaluate how nasal surface temperature changes before, during and after each of these procedures (TEE, TAI, TAG) as performed routinely on a commercial farm. A total of 116 crossbred piglets (Landrace x Large white x Duroc Danish) from multiparous sows were used. As litters were processed, thermographic images were taken using a high-resolution handheld infrared camera FLIR T650sc (640 x 480 pixels; FLIR Systems, Wilsonville, OR) at a uniform distance of 1 m on the left side of the face. All thermal images were collected between 0900 and 1600 h. To assess proced- ures separately, a recovery period (12 ± 2.5 min) was allowed between procedures. Due to order differences in which procedures were implemented, the following study groups were created (procedures in brackets in- dicate the procedures performed prior to the procedure being assessed): TEE, (TEE+) TAI, (TEE+TAI+) TAG, TAI, (TAI+) TEE, (TAI+TEE+) TAG, TAG, (TAG+) TEE, (TAG+TEE+) TAI. Temperature values were recorded from images using FLIR Tools soft- ware 6.0 (FLIR Systems). GraphPad Prism 10.0.2 (San Diego, CA) statistical software was used to analyze the obtained data. All data were analyzed via a linear mixed model for repeated measures and Multiple com- parisons were calculated using a post-hoc Tukey test (GraphPad Prism 10.0.2). There were no significant differences in Nasal surface temperature among groups at any time points (Table 1, P > 0.05). However, there was a significant reduction in temperature from before the procedure(s) to during and after the procedures in the TAG (P = 0.006) and the (TEE+) TAG (P < 0.001) groups. Changes in the surface temperature of pig- lets can be related to the sympathetic activity and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activation during the perception of a stressor, which causes a sympa- thetically mediated acute vasomotor response that shifts cutaneous capillary blood flow due to transient peripheral vasoconstriction. Infrared thermography recognizes such blood flow changes as a reduction in the amount of heat radiated from the skin. Indeed, the nasal surface temperature was reduced in TAG and (TEE+) TAG piglets during and after the procedure(s) which suggests these procedure groups caused a greater degree of thermal change to the piglets. Furthermore, the results suggest that infrared thermography could be a useful tool to assess the impact of routine husbandry practices on piglet welfare. Nonetheless, further research should assess infrared thermography alongside behavioral and physiological assessments to establish the relationship between surface temperature and stress during husbandry procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

including teeth clipping (TEE), tail docking (TAI), and ear tagging (TAG) are conducted routinely in commercial pig production units during the first days of life in piglets. However, as these procedures are conducted without anesthetics, there is controversy surrounding these procedures due to the pain/stress they may cause. The assessment of vasomotor activity using non-invasive infrared thermography (IRT) is increasingly being promoted as a tool to detect acute stress. The objective of this study was to assess changes in the ocular (OCU) window of piglets before, during and after each of the aforementioned procedures using IRT. This study used crossbred piglets (n = 116; Duroc Danish x Landrace x Large white) from multiparous sows. All thermographic images of piglets were taken between 0900 h and 1600 h using a high-resolution handheld infrared camera FLIR T650sc (640 x 480 pixels; FLIR Systems, Wilsonville, USA) at a uniform distance of 1 m on the left side of the face. To assess TEE, TAI and TAG procedures separately, a recovery period (12 ± 2.5 min) was allowed between procedures. Due to order differences in which procedures were conducted, the following study groups were created (procedures in brackets indicate the procedures performed prior to the focal procedure): TEE, (TEE+) TAI, (TEE+TAI+) TAG, TAI, (TAI+) TEE, (TAI+TEE+) TAG, TAG, (TAG+) TEE, (TAG+TEE+) TAI. Temperature values were recorded from images using FLIR Tools software 6.0 (FLIR Systems). Data were analyzed using a linear mixed model for repeated measures and multiple comparisons were calculated using a post-hoc Tukey test (GraphPad Prism 10.0.2). Table 1 shows the mean and standard deviation (SD) values for IRT recordings in the OCU window. Comparison of evaluation times showed a significant reduction in OCU temperature from before to after the procedure(s) in (TEE+) TAI (-1.21 °C, P < 0.001), (TAI+TEE+) TAG (-0.65 °C, P < 0.001), TAG (-0.58 °C, P < 0.05) and (TAG+TEE+) TAI (-0.3 °C, P < 0.01) groups. These changes in the OCU window of piglets may be in response to the procedures performed, resulting in a sympathetically mediated acute vasomotor response as cutaneous capillary blood flow shifts due to transient peripheral vasoconstriction. In turn, IRT detects this blood flow change as a reduction in surface temperature. Comparison between procedure groups found that mean OCU temperature during the procedure was greater (P = 0.01) in (TAI+) TEE and (TAG+) TEE than the rest of the groups, though the reason for this is unclear and requires further investigation. This work shows that IRT can be used as a non-invasive tool to detect surface temperature changes of piglets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infrared thermography (IRT) is a technique that indirectly assesses peripheral blood circulation and its resulting amount of radiated heat. Due to these properties, thermal imaging is currently applied in human medicine to noninvasively evaluate peripheral vascular disorders such as thrombosis, thromboembolisms, and other ischemic processes. Moreover, tissular damage (e.g., burn injuries) also causes microvasculature compromise. Therefore, thermography can be applied to determine the degree of damage according to the viability of tissues and blood vessels, and it can also be used as a technique to monitor skin transplant procedures such as grafting and free flaps. The present review aims to summarize and analyze the application of IRT in veterinary medicine as a method to indirectly assess peripheral vascular integrity and its relation to the amount of radiated heat and as a diagnostic technique for tissue viability, degree of damage, and wound care.