Determining a cut-off point for intervention analgesia in rabbits using the Bristol Rabbit Pain Scale

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Medicine
• Animal Welfare
• Pain Management

Background:

• Assessing pain in rabbits is crucial for their welfare.
• The Bristol Rabbit Pain Scale (BRPS) is a tool used for this assessment.
• Determining a clear threshold for intervention analgesia using the BRPS is needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish the threshold of the Bristol Rabbit Pain Scale (BRPS) that signifies the need for analgesic intervention in rabbits.
• To provide a practical guideline for veterinary professionals in pain management decisions.

Main Methods:

• Fourteen veterinary staff members rated the pain of 71 rabbits using the BRPS.
• One group of observers scored rabbits with the BRPS.
• Another group independently decided if analgesia was required, and their decisions were compared to BRPS scores.

Main Results:

• Rabbits requiring analgesia had a median BRPS score of 9, compared to 4 for those not requiring it (p < 0.001).
• The BRPS demonstrated excellent discrimination with a cut-off score of 5.5 (sensitivity 88.1%, specificity 69.4%).
• A practical cut-off score of 5 on the BRPS was identified.

Conclusions:

• A BRPS score of 5 or greater is recommended as the threshold for considering analgesic intervention in rabbits.
• This threshold provides a practical guideline for pain management in veterinary practice.
• Further research may be needed to address limitations such as sample size and the subjective nature of pain scoring.