Stress, lipid profile and inflammatory responses to flunixin meglumine administration in surgical and non-surgical castration in donkeys

Hamidreza Alipour-Khairkhah ¹, Saeed Azizi ¹, Siamak Asri-Rezaei ²

⁰Department of Surgery and Diagnostic Imaging, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran.

Veterinary and Animal Science +

|

January 21, 2025

View abstract on PubMed

Summary

Surgical castration in donkeys causes less inflammation and pain than non-surgical methods. Flunixin meglumine effectively reduces pain markers, especially with surgical castration.

Area Of Science

Veterinary Medicine
Equine Science
Pain Pathophysiology

Background

Limited data exists on pain pathophysiology in donkeys compared to horses.
Donkey castration involves surgical and non-surgical (bloodless) methods with varying pain responses.

Purpose Of The Study

To investigate the biochemical effects of flunixin meglumine in donkeys experiencing pain from castration.
To compare the inflammatory and stress responses between surgical and non-surgical castration methods.

Main Methods

Twenty healthy male donkeys were divided into four groups: surgical/non-surgical castration with/without flunixin meglumine.
Blood samples were collected pre-procedure and at 4 hours, 1 day, and 2 days post-castration.
Serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α, CRP, fibrinogen, cortisol, triglyceride, and cholesterol were analyzed.

Main Results

Non-surgical castration induced significantly higher levels of inflammatory markers (IL-6, TNF-α, CRP), cortisol, and lipids compared to surgical castration.
Flunixin meglumine reduced these markers, significantly impacting TNF-α and fibrinogen in surgically castrated donkeys.
In non-surgically castrated donkeys, flunixin meglumine significantly reduced all markers except fibrinogen.

Conclusions

Surgical castration is associated with less inflammation, stress, and pain than non-surgical castration in donkeys.
Flunixin meglumine is a beneficial adjunct for pain management in donkey castration, particularly for the bloodless technique.

Keywords:

Castration Donkey Equidae Flunixin meglumine Inflammatory markers Lipid profile NSAID