Analgesia for anesthetized patients

Many perioperative pain management protocols for cats and dogs are overly complex, some are ineffective, and still others expose patients to unnecessary risk. The purpose of this article is to provide clinicians with a basic understanding of the pathophysiology of perioperative pain and a working knowledge of the principles of effective therapy. First, the concept of multimodal analgesic therapy is discussed. Next, the pathophysiology of perioperative pain and the clinical pharmacology of the major classes of analgesic drugs are reviewed. And last, a simplified approach to managing perioperative pain in cats and dogs is presented.