Quantitative sensory testing in dogs with spontaneous osteoarthritis

ObjectiveTo investigate changes in somatosensory sensitivity in dogs with spontaneous osteoarthritis (OA) and pain of the stifle or hip, compared to a group of healthy control dogs.Study designA non-randomised, non-blinded, prospective research study.Animals30 control, 51 OA-pain, and 31 OA-pain dog...

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Main Authors: James Russell Hunt, David Knazovicky, Megan Goff, John Harris, Toby G. Knowles, Masataka Enomoto, Michael Mendl, Becky Whay, B. Duncan X. Lascelles, Joanna C. Murrell
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-04-01
Series:Frontiers in Pain Research
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpain.2025.1518725/full
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author James Russell Hunt
David Knazovicky
Megan Goff
John Harris
Toby G. Knowles
Masataka Enomoto
Michael Mendl
Becky Whay
B. Duncan X. Lascelles
B. Duncan X. Lascelles
B. Duncan X. Lascelles
B. Duncan X. Lascelles
Joanna C. Murrell
author_facet James Russell Hunt
David Knazovicky
Megan Goff
John Harris
Toby G. Knowles
Masataka Enomoto
Michael Mendl
Becky Whay
B. Duncan X. Lascelles
B. Duncan X. Lascelles
B. Duncan X. Lascelles
B. Duncan X. Lascelles
Joanna C. Murrell
author_sort James Russell Hunt
collection DOAJ
description ObjectiveTo investigate changes in somatosensory sensitivity in dogs with spontaneous osteoarthritis (OA) and pain of the stifle or hip, compared to a group of healthy control dogs.Study designA non-randomised, non-blinded, prospective research study.Animals30 control, 51 OA-pain, and 31 OA-pain dogs receiving NSAIDsMethodsA range of noxious and non-noxious quantitative sensory testing (QST) modalities were applied. Dogs were tested twice, one month apart. Two sites were tested at each visit: a distal site located on the cranial aspect of the mid metatarsus and a primary site, lateral to the patella (in dogs with stifle OA) or craniodorsally to the greater trochanter (in dogs with coxofemoral OA). Control dogs were tested at appropriate primary sites to produce the same proportion of animals being tested at stifle or hip as those in the OA group. The order in which non-nociceptive and nociceptive tests were performed was randomized for each test site for each animal, although nociceptive tests were always performed after non-nociceptive tests. Feasibility for performing the tests was assessed for the final 45 dogs recruited to the study. The hierarchical structure of the QST testing data was accounted for within the statistical analysis by employing general linear modelling within a multilevel modelling framework using the MLwiN statistics package.ResultsOsteoarthritis category was not a major determinant of QST outcome measures for the majority of modalities evaluated. In the few modalities in which OA category was determined to be a significant predictor variable, the results were not consistent with previously reported data. The novel, non-nociceptive tests employed overall suggested non-noxious hypoesthesia in association with OA pain. The feasibility of performing QST assessments was relatively low compared to previous studies.Conclusionsand clinical relevance: In a clinical environment, the variability in feasibility of performing QST between dogs may be sufficient to confound changes in QST outcome measures associated with spontaneous OA.
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spelling doaj-art-8ec09dd15c6d4d70bef8b64e62ad1d242025-08-20T02:17:13ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Pain Research2673-561X2025-04-01610.3389/fpain.2025.15187251518725Quantitative sensory testing in dogs with spontaneous osteoarthritisJames Russell Hunt0David Knazovicky1Megan Goff2John Harris3Toby G. Knowles4Masataka Enomoto5Michael Mendl6Becky Whay7B. Duncan X. Lascelles8B. Duncan X. Lascelles9B. Duncan X. Lascelles10B. Duncan X. Lascelles11Joanna C. Murrell12Bristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Bristol, United KingdomDepartment of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United StatesBristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Bristol, United KingdomArthritis Research UK Pain Centre and Division of Animal Sciences, School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Loughborough, United KingdomBristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Bristol, United KingdomTranslational Research in Pain, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United StatesBristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Bristol, United KingdomNatural Sciences, University of Galway, Galway, IrelandDepartment of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United StatesCenter for Comparative Pain Research and Education, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United StatesCenter for Pain Research and Innovation, UNC School of Dentistry, Chapel Hill, NC, United StatesDepartment of Anesthesiology, Center for Translational Pain Research Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, United StatesBristol Vet Specialists, Bristol, United KingdomObjectiveTo investigate changes in somatosensory sensitivity in dogs with spontaneous osteoarthritis (OA) and pain of the stifle or hip, compared to a group of healthy control dogs.Study designA non-randomised, non-blinded, prospective research study.Animals30 control, 51 OA-pain, and 31 OA-pain dogs receiving NSAIDsMethodsA range of noxious and non-noxious quantitative sensory testing (QST) modalities were applied. Dogs were tested twice, one month apart. Two sites were tested at each visit: a distal site located on the cranial aspect of the mid metatarsus and a primary site, lateral to the patella (in dogs with stifle OA) or craniodorsally to the greater trochanter (in dogs with coxofemoral OA). Control dogs were tested at appropriate primary sites to produce the same proportion of animals being tested at stifle or hip as those in the OA group. The order in which non-nociceptive and nociceptive tests were performed was randomized for each test site for each animal, although nociceptive tests were always performed after non-nociceptive tests. Feasibility for performing the tests was assessed for the final 45 dogs recruited to the study. The hierarchical structure of the QST testing data was accounted for within the statistical analysis by employing general linear modelling within a multilevel modelling framework using the MLwiN statistics package.ResultsOsteoarthritis category was not a major determinant of QST outcome measures for the majority of modalities evaluated. In the few modalities in which OA category was determined to be a significant predictor variable, the results were not consistent with previously reported data. The novel, non-nociceptive tests employed overall suggested non-noxious hypoesthesia in association with OA pain. The feasibility of performing QST assessments was relatively low compared to previous studies.Conclusionsand clinical relevance: In a clinical environment, the variability in feasibility of performing QST between dogs may be sufficient to confound changes in QST outcome measures associated with spontaneous OA.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpain.2025.1518725/fulldogspontaneous osteoarthritisquantitative sensorial testing (QST)central sensitisationpain
spellingShingle James Russell Hunt
David Knazovicky
Megan Goff
John Harris
Toby G. Knowles
Masataka Enomoto
Michael Mendl
Becky Whay
B. Duncan X. Lascelles
B. Duncan X. Lascelles
B. Duncan X. Lascelles
B. Duncan X. Lascelles
Joanna C. Murrell
Quantitative sensory testing in dogs with spontaneous osteoarthritis
Frontiers in Pain Research
dog
spontaneous osteoarthritis
quantitative sensorial testing (QST)
central sensitisation
pain
title Quantitative sensory testing in dogs with spontaneous osteoarthritis
title_full Quantitative sensory testing in dogs with spontaneous osteoarthritis
title_fullStr Quantitative sensory testing in dogs with spontaneous osteoarthritis
title_full_unstemmed Quantitative sensory testing in dogs with spontaneous osteoarthritis
title_short Quantitative sensory testing in dogs with spontaneous osteoarthritis
title_sort quantitative sensory testing in dogs with spontaneous osteoarthritis
topic dog
spontaneous osteoarthritis
quantitative sensorial testing (QST)
central sensitisation
pain
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpain.2025.1518725/full
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