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Evaluation of anaesthesia and analgesia quality during disbudding of goat kids by certified Swiss farmers

Overview of attention for article published in BMC Veterinary Research, July 2018
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Title
Evaluation of anaesthesia and analgesia quality during disbudding of goat kids by certified Swiss farmers
Published in
BMC Veterinary Research, July 2018
DOI 10.1186/s12917-018-1544-7
Pubmed ID
Authors

N. Wagmann, C. Spadavecchia, U. Morath-Huss, G. Schüpbach-Regula, P. Zanolari

Abstract

Certified Swiss farmers are allowed to disbud their goat kids using a standard intramuscularly administered anaesthetic mixture. This mixture, containing xylazine and ketamine, is officially distributed with the goal to provide a painless disbudding. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of analgesia and anaesthesia achieved during disbudding, when performed by Swiss farmers. To assess this, 174 goat kids at 31 different farms were observed and filmed during cautery disbudding. The standard anaesthetic mixture (0.05 mg/kg xylazine and 20 mg/kg ketamine) was used only in 71 goat kids. Fifty-eight goat kids were anaesthetised with different dosages of xylazine (median 0.18 mg/kg) and ketamine (median 10 mg/kg), 22 with xylazine only (median 0.61 mg/kg), 20 with xylazine (median 1.84 mg/kg) and perineural lidocaine (median 1.23 mg/kg), three with acepromazine (dosage unknown) and ketamine (10 mg/kg). Based on vocalisation, limb movement and head lifting during disbudding, a general reaction score was attributed to 168 goat kids (six were excluded due to firm restraint): 56.5% were scored zero (no limb movement, no vocalisation), 7.7% one, 17.3% two and 18.5% three (strong movements, vocalisation). Significant risk factors for higher reaction scores were the type of anaesthetic protocol and manipulation by the farmer during induction. Significant risk factors for longer recoveries were use of xylazine alone or xylazine in combination with perineural lidocaine, breed, younger age and recovery underneath heat lamp. The present study indicates that anaesthesia and analgesia of goat kids disbudded by Swiss farmers is inadequate, as 35.8% of the animals showed moderate to strong behavioural reactions during the procedure. Unexpectedly, only 40.8% of the goat kids were anaesthetised with the standard anaesthetic mixture and several other protocols were used. A refinement of the recommended protocol is urgently needed to guarantee animal welfare.

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Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 33 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 33 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Ph. D. Student 4 12%
Researcher 3 9%
Other 2 6%
Student > Master 2 6%
Student > Doctoral Student 1 3%
Other 4 12%
Unknown 17 52%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Veterinary Science and Veterinary Medicine 8 24%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 5 15%
Medicine and Dentistry 3 9%
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science 1 3%
Unknown 16 48%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 11 July 2018.
All research outputs
#18,641,800
of 23,094,276 outputs
Outputs from BMC Veterinary Research
#1,946
of 3,079 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#252,186
of 326,642 outputs
Outputs of similar age from BMC Veterinary Research
#46
of 65 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 23,094,276 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 11th percentile – i.e., 11% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 3,079 research outputs from this source. They receive a mean Attention Score of 3.9. This one is in the 20th percentile – i.e., 20% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 65 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 16th percentile – i.e., 16% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.