Comparison of firocoxib and meloxicam for pain mitigation in goats undergoing surgical castration.

OBJECTIVE:This study sought to determine whether firocoxib (FIRO) or meloxicam (MEL) was effective at providing analgesia after surgical castration in goats. ANIMALS:18 intact male crossbred goats (6 to 8 months old) were enrolled with a mean weight of 32.6 (± 2.9) kg. METHODS:Surgical castration was done under injectable anesthesia by a licensed veterinarian. Twelve bucks were surgically castrated and given either FIRO (n = 6) or MEL (n = 6). Six bucks served as controls (CNTLs) and were not castrated. Outcome measurements included visual analogue scale, infrared thermography, plasma cortisol, plasma substance P, and kinetic gait analysis. All outcome measurements were obtained at -24, 4, 8, 24, 48, and 72 hours. RESULTS:All 3 treatments were significantly different from each other at the 24- and 48-hour time points, with MEL animals having lower visual analogue scale scores when compared to FIRO animals; CNTL animals exhibited the lowest plasma cortisol levels (3.19 ng/mL; 95% CI, -1.21 to 7.59 ng/mL) followed by FIRO (7.45 ng/mL; 95% CI, 3.10 to 11.80 ng/mL) and MEL (10.24 ng/mL; 95% CI, 5.87 to 14.60 ng/mL). FIRO had an average mean decrease in gait velocity change (-54.17 cm/s; 95% CI, -92.99 to -15.35 cm/s), while MEL had an increase in gait velocity when compared to baseline values (14.54 cm/s; 95% CI, -24.27 to 53.36 cm/s). Control animals had an average mean of -3.06 cm/s (95% CI, -41.88 to 35.75 cm/s). CLINICAL RELEVANCE:Results from this study showed that there were some analgesic effects from administering MEL when compared to bucks that received a placebo treatment (CNTL).