The Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing is an academic center affiliated with the Division of Toxicological Sciences in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences of the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

 

Johns Hopkins School of Public Health

Research Grants 2005-2006

Assessment of a pain scoring system for rhesus macaques

Kristine Coleman, PhD
Oregon National Primate Research Center

In recent years, there has been an increasing awareness of the need for improved pain asessment and management techniques for laboratory animals. Pain scales have been created for various species in an effort to reduce pain and sufering by allowing for timely intervention. However, many of the scoring systems that have been developed were based on one species and adapted to others. This practice may not be appropriate, given that expression of pain often differs across species. The overall goal of this study is to establish and validate useable guidelines for assessing pain in rhesus macaques (Macca mulatta). While nonhuman primates are common subjects in biomedical studies, there is a paucity of published pain scoring systems for these species. Having such a scoring system would allow primate veterinarians and researchers to refine current acceptable postoperative care practicies to reduce pain. In this study, we will monitor and assesss behavior and physiological variables such as heart rate, pupil dilation and activity in adult rhesus monkeys prior to and following a major surgery. We will then correlate these variables with variables that might predict pain levels, including the amount of analgesia (administered by the surgical staff), in an effort to get a better understanding of behavioral and/or physiological manifestations of pain. This information will help us develop and assess a species-specific pain scoring system for rhesus macaques.