Clinical evaluation of perioperative administration of gabapentin as an adjunct for postoperative analgesia in dogs undergoing amputation of a forelimb.

Objective—To evaluate perioperative administration of gabapentin as an adjunct for analgesia in dogs undergoing amputation of a forelimb. Design—Randomized, controlled trial. Animals—30 client-owned dogs. Procedures—On the day before surgery, a baseline pain evaluation was performed in each dog by use of multiple pain assessment methods. Dogs then received gabapentin (10 mg/kg [4.5 mg/lb], PO, once, followed by 5 mg/kg [2.3 mg/lb], PO, q 12 h for 3 additional days) or a placebo. On the day of surgery, dogs were anesthetized and forelimb amputation was performed. Fentanyl was infused after surgery for 18 to 24 hours; use of other analgesics was allowed. In-hospital pain evaluations were repeated at intervals for 18 hours after surgery, and owners were asked to evaluate daily their dog's activity, appetite, and wound soreness for the first 3 days after discharge from the hospital. Results were analyzed by use of a repeated-measures ANOVA. Results—Pain evaluation scores did not differ significantly between g...