Reptile Analgesia Without Respiratory
Depression
In collaboration with Dr. Kurt Sladky
(Surgical Sciences, UW School of Vet Med), our goal is to
test and develop pharmacological approaches for providing
pain relief in reptiles with minimal or no respiratory depression.
To test for analgesic effects of drugs, noxious thermal stimuli
are applied to the hindlimbs of awake turtles before and after
drug administration. Breathing in freely-swimming turtles
is measured as described above to measure any respiratory
depression.
Our major findings are that butorphanol
(most widely prescribed drug for pain relief in reptiles)
does not provide analgesia, while morphine provides analgesia
and causes severe respiratory depression.
Current studies show that tramadol
given orally produces long-lasting analgesia (up to 3 days
after drug administration) with only modest respiratory depression.