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Practical use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in farm practice
Abstract
The importance of pain relief in farm animals has never been further up the agenda for modern food production and farm animal practice. This has been driven by increased awareness amongst farmers, veterinary surgeons and consumers. This article looks at the practical use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in farm animal practice for both adults and youngstock. The basic mode of action of NSAIDs is discussed and some of the evidence base that has been growing over the use of NSAIDs in cattle. It also highlights some of the present requirements of some of the retailers and auditing bodies.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have long been used in the farm veterinary world, with licensed oral and injectable suspensions readily available on the market. However, one of the authors remembers NSAIDs being only used for ‘special cases’ where the farmer had a highly valued animal! They are now considered a staple in any veterinary surgeon's car and used commonly in conjunction with other medicines or alone, to treat a range of diseases. More NSAIDs are being used than ever before (see Figure 1).
There is now unequivocal evidence demonstrating the benefits of NSAIDs in the management of bovine disease. This includes mastitis (Fitzpatrick et al, 2013,) respiratory disease (Selman et al, 1986) and more recently lameness (Thomas et al, 2015). However there is also good evidence that the use of these NSAIDs has a benefit in routine procedures such as disbudding and castration (Hudson and Reader, 2014).
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