Use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for Finnish sows

Farrowing, diseases, and injuries all cause acute nociceptive pain to sows. Pain can strain the body, cause negative emotions and poor welfare, slow healing, and hinder piglet health and growth. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are efficient and practical in alleviating nociceptive pain in sows, although more research about the efficiency, safety, and use in practice is needed. Thus, this observational, retrospective, cross-sectional, register-based study aimed to describe veterinary instructions for NSAID use in Finnish sow herds and to compare them with recorded use during January-December 2022. We also explored, using logistic regression, whether herd type or size was associated with NSAID use. A total of 70% of the 50 study herds had written veterinary instructions for NSAID use for sows. Although widespread, NSAID use was highly variable. Most herds administered pain alleviation to sows frequently, while five herds reported no NSAID use. Most often, ketoprofen or meloxicam was used to treat sows having anorexia without other symptoms, farrowing-related disorders and diseases, reproduction problems, or musculoskeletal diseases. Caretakers also administered NSAIDs for indications not instructed by the herd health veterinarian and used treatment durations longer than instructed. The median number (interquartile range, IQR) of total NSAID (ketoprofen plus meloxicam) treatment courses per sow was 0.35 (1.52), and the median number of NSAID doses used per 100 sows per day (NSAID_DDD_100) was 0.22 (IQR 0.58) in the study herds. Neither herd type nor herd size was associated with NSAID use.