Long term analgesia in rabbits

Re: Long term analgesia in rabbits

Ian Mostyn — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 22:23:00 GMT

I forget who it was but one of the staff members at Cambridge was giving a presentation at the Northern Vet Show on osteoarthritis and their conclusion was that the benefits of reducing renal inflammation counteracted any detrimental effects of metacam in cats. I would still carefully monitor the rabbit but I have become less concerned with renal disease when I can improve quality of life. Life is a series of risks that need balancing.

Ian

Re: Long term analgesia in rabbits

Marie Kubiak — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 17:36:02 GMT

Rarely I have seen mild sedation but this appears a transient effect and they return to normal after 24-48hrs of dosing. I suspect in some cases mild sedation may not be clinically evident as they have a marked increase in activity due to the analgesic benefits! I was initially concerned that they may develop some of the side effects seen in humans such as dizziness and altered appetite but have seen no evidence of this (and some of my owners are VERY conscientious with monitoring!) and I've treated lots of older bunnies with tramadol now due to concerns about long-term high level NSAID use.

Marie

Re: Long term analgesia in rabbits

Mark Rowland — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 17:28:40 GMT

Some credence in doing some bloods in older bunnies for long term metacam. As its DJD, you could go for some neutraceuticles... and I would inform the owner to watch out for signs of sedation with tramadol which I have seen. I think in a case like this multimodal is the best way to go but be safe so check its renal function first.

Re: Long term analgesia in rabbits

Rachael Winder — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 17:24:21 GMT

Hadn't thought of tramadol! Any significant side effects?

Thanks for the advice all.

Re: Long term analgesia in rabbits

Rachael Winder — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 17:22:20 GMT

This is from memory, not got the notes to hand. The rabbit was having cat metacam oral, dosage 0.6mg/kg SID.

Re: Long term analgesia in rabbits

Marie Kubiak — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 17:21:26 GMT

I've had good results with tramadol for chronic conditions. I use 15mg/kg bid for bunnies (lower doses are reported but studies suggest poor likely analgesic effect) alongside metacam and taper the metacam dose down to minimal effective quantity.

Marie

Re: Long term analgesia in rabbits

Louise6732 — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 17:07:17 GMT

What dose of oral metacam were you using? Dog or cat version? The dose for rabbits with dog oral metacam is between 3-6times the dog dose. So for example, you could treat a 2kg rabbit with the 10kg dog dose.

Louise