Analgesic Effects of Metoclopramide Following Conventional Ovariohysterectomy in Bitches

Objective: the aim of the present study was to evaluate the analgesic properties of metoclopramide, a frequently prescribed antiemetic, for relieving postoperative pain following ovariohysterectomy in dogs. study design: experimental study animals: sixteen intact bitches, mean weight 15±2 kg. methods: the dogs were randomly placed into two equal groups(a and b). prior to surgery, the dogs in group a, received metoclopramide (0.5mg/kg/ iv) and the dogs in group b, received the same volume of saline placebo intravenously. under general anesthesia (acepromazine [0.1mg/kg/im], thiopental na [8 mg/kg/iv] and inhalation of 1.6 % isoflurane in 100% oxygen) traditional midline ovariohysterectomy was performed in all dogs. pain scores were recorded using a university melbourne pain scale (umps) before surgery and at 0.5, 1, 3, 6 and 24 hours following surgery. all data were analyzed by spss software using the student's t test for normally distributed data and the mann- whitney u and wilcoxon signed-rank test for skewed data. p-value less than 0.05 was considered to be significant. results: the mean of recovery time was significantly higher in group b (18.6±2.3) in compared to group a (11.4±2.3)(p=0.001). median pain scores were significantly higher in the group b than group a at all postoperative times (p<0.05) except 24 hours following the surgery (p=0.6). median postoperative pain scores were significantly higer than preoperative pain scores at 0.5, 1, 3 and 6 hours in both groups (p<0.05). conclusion: it is concluded that metoclopramide has analgesic properties and can alleviate postoperative pain following ovariohysterectomy in dogs during 6 hours after surgery. in addition following injection of the drug duration of recovery time is significantly decreased.