How many doses of buprenorphine should be given?
This question is difficult to answer as most studies only follow the rats during the immediate post-operative period. Additional doses of buprenorphine after laparotomy may be beneficial (Liles and Flecknell, 1993 & 1994). A second dose of buprenorphine given 9 hours after the first dose was still able to improve indicators of pain in rats that had received a laparotomy suggesting that laparotomy pain outlasts a single dose (Liles and Flecknell, 1994). Recently it has been suggested that rats may mask pain during the dark-cycle hours to avoid displaying abnormal activity and increased risk of predation (Roughan and Flecknell, 2000). This brings up a problem in accessing presence of pain in this species during this part of their light cycle. If two doses have been demonstrated to be beneficial to rats after laparotomy, it would seem reasonable to conclude that two or more would be indicated with more extensive surgeries (i.e. orthopedic procedures, laminectomies). What about NSAIDs? Con
