Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41644283›Full record

ArticleAustralian veterinary journal2026

Survey describing the perspectives and practices of Australian veterinarians to pain management in horses.

A Whitelock, W Goodwin, L Dryburgh, P P Mshelbwala, L Rae, L Marwedel, T Lok, K Kemp, A J Stewart

Abstract read
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Article in Australian veterinary journal, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

A WhitelockSchool of Veterinary Sciences, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland, 4343, Australia.
W GoodwinSchool of Veterinary Sciences, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland, 4343, Australia.
L DryburghBoehringer Ingelheim Animal Health Australia, 78 Waterloo Rd, North Ryde, New South Wales, 2113, Australia.
P P MshelbwalaSchool of Veterinary Sciences, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland, 4343, Australia.
L RaeBoehringer Ingelheim Animal Health Australia, 78 Waterloo Rd, North Ryde, New South Wales, 2113, Australia.
L MarwedelBoehringer Ingelheim Animal Health Australia, 78 Waterloo Rd, North Ryde, New South Wales, 2113, Australia.
T LokRandwick Equine Specialists, Horsley Park, New South Wales, 2175, Australia.
K KempSchool of Veterinary Sciences, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland, 4343, Australia.
A J StewartSchool of Veterinary Sciences, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland, 4343, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo describe Australian practices and attitudes regarding equine analgesia. STUDY

designCross-sectional anonymous, voluntary survey of Australian veterinarians treating equine patients.

methodsAustralian veterinarians in equine or mixed practices completed a six-section, 60-question survey between November 2019 to August 2020. Information was gathered on demographics, analgesia prescription, pain assessment and attitudes surrounding specific analgesics. Respondents assigned a pain score ranging from 0 to 10 for various conditions; these were averaged to give each respondent an "average pain score".

resultsData from 153 respondents were included for analysis. The majority of respondents were female (68%). There was no obvious effect of gender on practice type, with approximately half of respondents working in equine exclusive (50.3%) or mixed (49.7%) practice irrespective of gender. Butorphanol was the most frequently used opioid, with 25.5% and 39.2% of respondents using it "every day" and "a few times a week", respectively. The use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) was diverse, with phenylbutazone, flunixin and meloxicam being the most administered. Formal pain scales were infrequently used, with more than 35% of respondents reporting no pain scale being utilised commonly. In response to various clinical scenarios, veterinarians graduating less than 10 years ago were more likely to assign high average pain scores compared to respondents graduating more than 10 years ago (78.0% vs. 66.0%, respectively). Female veterinarians were more likely to assign high average pain severity scores than males (73.0% vs. 60.0%, respectively). However, in the multivariable analysis, none of the predictors were found to be statistically significant.

conclusionsThis survey demonstrates that demographic factors influence the attitudes of Australian equine veterinarians regarding pain and there may be opportunities to educate and optimise pain assessment and protocol choices.

Indexed as

Horse DiseasesPainPain ManagementVeterinariansAnalgesicsAnalgesics, OpioidAnimalsAnti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-SteroidalAustraliaCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHorsesHumansMalePain MeasurementSurveys and QuestionnairesAnalgesicsAnalgesics, OpioidAnti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidalanalgesiaequinesurveyveterinary

Identifiers

PMID41644283
PMCPMC13132014

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.