Analgesic drug efficacy in mouse postoperative pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis

IF 6.8 3区农林科学 Q1 VETERINARY SCIENCES

Lab Animal Pub Date : 2026-06-23 DOI:10.1038/s41684-026-01750-5

Roberta Giusti Schran, Patrícia Rodrigues, Gabriela Trevisan, Juliano Ferreira

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Abstract

The management of postoperative pain is a critical ethical concern and a challenge in laboratory animal research, particularly for mice. Surgical procedures are routinely conducted in mice, but the use of analgesic drugs is underreported and the assessment of their efficacy is limited. This systematic review assesses the efficacy of analgesic drugs for postoperative pain in mice, addressing the influence of various factors, including sex, surgical invasiveness, pain modalities and analgesic classes. A systematic literature search resulted in 48 eligible studies included in the qualitative analysis and 43 in the quantitative analysis. The overall pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) for analgesic drugs was 0.46 (95% confidence interval 0.31 to 0.60), indicating a positive pain-reducing effect. Subgroup analysis revealed that analgesic treatment was significantly more effective in male (SMD 0.84; 0.60 to 1.08) than in female mice, in mild (SMD 0.57; 0.38 to 0.75) than in severe surgical procedures and in reducing evoked pain (SMD 1.12; 0.83 to 1.41) than in reducing spontaneous pain. In addition, almost all analgesic drug classes tested, including opioids, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, acetaminophen and local anesthetics were effective in reducing evoked pain but not spontaneous pain (SMD 0.12; −0.03 to 0.27). However, most studies present limitations that could produce a high risk of bias. Taken together, our results indicate that, although analgesic drugs can reduce postoperative pain in mice, their efficacy is reduced in females, severely invasive surgeries and spontaneous pain. Thus, high-quality studies are still needed to answer ethical concerns and to guarantee full analgesia in laboratory mice submitted to surgical procedures. This study systematically reviews analgesic efficacy for postoperative pain in mice, showing overall pain reduction but reduced effects in females, severe surgeries and spontaneous pain, stressing the need for higher-quality studies.

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镇痛药物对小鼠术后疼痛的疗效：系统回顾和荟萃分析。

术后疼痛的处理是一个关键的伦理问题，也是实验动物研究中的一个挑战，特别是对小鼠。外科手术通常在小鼠中进行，但镇痛药物的使用被低估，对其疗效的评估有限。本系统综述评估了镇痛药物对小鼠术后疼痛的疗效，探讨了各种因素的影响，包括性别、手术侵入性、疼痛方式和镇痛药物类别。通过系统的文献检索，定性分析纳入48项符合条件的研究，定量分析纳入43项。镇痛药物的总标准化平均差异（SMD）为0.46(95%可信区间0.31 ~ 0.60)，表明镇痛药物具有积极的镇痛作用。亚组分析显示，镇痛治疗在雄性小鼠（SMD 0.84; 0.60 ~ 1.08）中比在雌性小鼠中更有效，在轻度小鼠（SMD 0.57; 0.38 ~ 0.75）中比在重度手术中更有效，在减轻诱发性疼痛（SMD 1.12; 0.83 ~ 1.41）中比在减轻自发性疼痛方面更有效。此外，几乎所有被测试的镇痛药物类别，包括阿片类药物、非甾体抗炎药、对乙酰氨基酚和局部麻醉剂，对减轻诱发性疼痛有效，但对自发性疼痛无效（SMD为0.12;-0.03至0.27）。然而，大多数研究存在可能产生高偏倚风险的局限性。综上所述，我们的研究结果表明，尽管镇痛药物可以减轻小鼠术后疼痛，但在雌性、严重侵入性手术和自发性疼痛中，镇痛药物的效果会降低。因此，仍然需要高质量的研究来回答伦理问题，并保证实验室小鼠接受外科手术的完全镇痛。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Lab Animal 农林科学-兽医学

CiteScore

0.60

自引率

2.90%

发文量

181

审稿时长

>36 weeks

期刊介绍： LabAnimal is a Nature Research journal dedicated to in vivo science and technology that improves our basic understanding and use of model organisms of human health and disease. In addition to basic research, methods and technologies, LabAnimal also covers important news, business and regulatory matters that impact the development and application of model organisms for preclinical research. LabAnimal's focus is on innovative in vivo methods, research and technology covering a wide range of model organisms. Our broad scope ensures that the work we publish reaches the widest possible audience. LabAnimal provides a rigorous and fair peer review of manuscripts, high standards for copyediting and production, and efficient publication.