PAIN MANAGEMENT PROTOCOLS FOR CATS UNDERGOING ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY

Abstract

This article sought to analyze and establish effective protocols for postoperative pain management in cats undergoing orthopedic surgery, through a narrative review of the scientific literature. The methodology consisted of a qualitative analysis of publications indexed in SciELO, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, and the CAPES Portal, using specific descriptors combined with Boolean operators. Eighty-nine relevant studies from the last ten years were selected, categorized by pharmacological classes, multimodal protocols, and pain assessment tools. The main results showed that multimodal protocols provided a 34% reduction in pain scores compared to monotherapies, with buprenorphine emerging as the opioid of choice due to its superior safety profile. The UNESP-Botucatu Multidimensional Pain Scale demonstrated 89% sensitivity and 91% specificity for identifying clinically relevant pain. Locoregional anesthesia showed a 156% increase in publications, reflecting its increasing incorporation into clinical protocols. It is concluded that individualized multimodal analgesia, based on the combination of buprenorphine, meloxicam and local blocks, represents the current gold standard for postoperative pain control in feline orthopedic surgeries, providing greater analgesic efficacy and a better safety profile compared to traditional monotherapeutic approaches.