The analgesic effects of oral paracetamol in two strains of mice undergoing vasectomy

Abstract

As the production of transgenic mice increases, the need for vasectomized mice also increases. Currently, there is no accurate method of identifying pain in these mice which can be used routinely and therefore no acceptable analgesic regimens can be established. Sixteen male CBA/CaCrl and 16 male DBA/2JCrl mice were randomly allocated to one of four treatment groups (saline, low, medium and high dose oral paracetamol) and then underwent abdominal vasectomy. Their behaviour was videotaped (filmed) preoperatively and at one hour postoperatively and the data were analysed using an automated system – HomeCageScan. HomeCageScan detected significant changes in 16 behaviours following vasectomy. Such behaviours included twitching, rearing and grooming with varying levels of significance between the strains. No significant effects of drug treatment in any of the behaviours analysed by HomeCageScan were detected in the postoperative observation period. Strain-specific changes do occur in behaviour following abdominal vasectomy and HomeCageScan is capable of detecting these changes. The use of orally administered paracetamol was deemed to be an ineffective analgesic for CBA/CaCrl and DBA/2JCrl mice undergoing vasectomy.