Comparison of subcutaneous and transdermal administration of buprenorphine for pre-emptive analgesia in dogs undergoing elective ovariohysterectomy

The clinical efficacy of a 70 μg/h transdermal buprenorphine patch and of 20 μg/kg of buprenorphine administered subcutaneously (SC) for the relief of post-operative pain was determined in 24 healthy female dogs undergoing elective ovariohysterectomy (OHE). Dogs were randomly assigned to three groups: (1) a control group that received no analgesics, (2) a BSC group that received buprenorphine SC (20 μg/kg), and (3) a BP group that received buprenorphine by a 70 μg/h transdermal patch. Dogs were scored for signs of pain at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 14, 20, 26, 32 and 38 h after extubation using the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) and a modified University of Melbourne Pain Scale (UMPS).Mean NRS and UMPS scores for dogs in the BSC group (2.56 ± 0.23 and 3.05 ± 0.27, respectively) and the BP group (2.02 ± 0.24 and 2.67 ± 0.23, respectively) were significantly lower (P < 0.05) compared with dogs in the control group (5.42 ± 0.38 and 7.89 ± 0.44, respectively), whereas differences between the two buprenorphine treatment groups were not significant. The results indicated that the analgesia produced by the 70 μg/h patch was similar to that induced by SC administration of 20 μg/kg of buprenorphine in dogs undergoing OHE, suggesting that the transdermal buprenorphine patch may be a useful alternative for pain management in dogs.