The aim of this prospective clinical trial was to compare the influence of butorphanol, buprenorphine and levomethadone on sedation quality and postoperative analgesia in horses undergoing cheek tooth extraction. Fifty horses were assigned to three groups prior to oral cheek tooth extraction. Horses were treated with acepromazine, followed by a detomidine bolus, one of the three opioids and both a nerve block and gingival anaesthesia. During the surgery, sedation was maintained with a detomidine constant rate infusion. After surgery, the quality of sedation, surgical conditions and severity of the extraction were assessed with a numerical rating scale. To evaluate differences in the quality of analgesia between the three treatments, postoperative pain was estimated with the Equine Utrecht University Scale for Facial Assessment of Pain. Additionally, several parameters that are associated with dental pain were added to this validated pain score, and blood samples were taken to measure serum cortisol. Our analysis showed lower pain scores and a greater analgesic effect with levomethadone and buprenorphine compared with butorphanol, with increased locomotor activity induced by buprenorphine. While cortisol values demonstrated higher response in horses treated with levomethadone and buprenorphine compared to butorphanol, these values could be biased by unrelated stressors.
Keywords: analgesia; dental pain; equine; opioids; pain management; pain scoring.