Aim. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or
opioids are commonly used to control surgical
pain following veterinary and clinical procedures. This study evaluated the efficacy of postoperative
ketorolac or
buprenorphine following abdominal surgery. Main Methods. Mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate, animal activity,
corticosterone levels, and a nociceptive sensitivity assay were used to evaluate 18 adult male Sprague-Dawley rats which underwent aortic artery occlusion for implantation of a radiotelemetry device. The animals were treated postoperatively with
intraperitoneal injections of vehicle,
ketorolac (10 mg/kg), or
buprenorphine (0.06 mg/kg) every 8 hours for 3 days. Key Findings. There were no consistent significant changes in any of the telemetry parameters
after treatment with
ketorolac compared with no saline treatment with the exception of increased MAP in the
buprenorphine group during the first 48 hours when compared with other treatment groups. There was a sustained increase in fecal
corticosterone levels from baseline on days 2-7 with
buprenorphine compared with vehicle- or
ketorolac-treated animals. All treatment conditions displayed reduced paw withdrawal thresholds (PWTs) from day 1 to day 21 following surgery. Compared with the vehicle treatment group,
buprenorphine-treated animals exhibited significantly lower PWT levels from day 4 to 14 days. Significance. Given the prolonged increase in fecal
corticosterone levels and pronounced changes in tactile
hyperalgesia behavior in rodents subjected to
buprenorphine treatment, these data suggest that
ketorolac may be superior to
buprenorphine for the treatment of postprocedure
pain behavior in rodents.