Pain and Distress & Statistical Design

Question 1

Who defines pain as a nociceptive response to stimuli, distress as a condition challenging for the animal to adapt, and suffering as intolerable?

Answer 1

The International Association for the Study of Pain.

Question 2

What are the regulations for pain research?

Answer 2

AWR, PHS Policy, and the Guide for Care and Use of Laboratory Animals are enforced by IACUC when reviewing protocols.

Question 3

Who requires investigators to find alternatives to pain?

Answer 3

USDA and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

Question 4

Pain Classification:

Answer 4

1. Pain

1.1. Acute & 1.2. Chronic

1.2.1. Nociceptive, 1.2.2. Neuropathic, 1.2.3. Visceral, & 1.2.4. Mixed

1.2.2.1. Central & 1.2.2.2. Peripheral

Question 5

What are the USDA’s 4 pain categories?

Answer 5

B: Breeding or holding protocol animals
C: Momentary/slight pain or distress
D: Pain or distress relieved with analgesics
E: Pain or distress not relieved with analgesics

Question 6

What are the 4 categories of analgesics?

Answer 6

Opioid drugs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, & topical/local anesthetics. (Use more than 1 category).

Question 7

What is Allodynia?

Answer 7

Pain response to a non-painful stimulus.

Question 8

What are the 3 animal models of pain?

Answer 8

Inflammatory (arthritis), Neuropathic (spinal cord trauma), Cancer (bone cancer).

Question 9

Why is the number of animals an issue?

Answer 9

The Animal Welfare Act of 1985 requires researchers to reduce the number of animals by justifying that they can get conclusive results.

Question 10

What type of issue is the number of animals?

Answer 10

It is a scientific, statistical, practical, and ethical issue.

Question 11

How does a PI develop a research plan for animals?

Answer 11

1. Research question
2. Experimental unit
3. Observational unit
4. Measurements
5. Amount of natural variability
6. The amount of difference between treatments
7. The level of resources that can be committed to an experiment

Question 12

What is the sample size based on?

Answer 12

Experimental unit (broken into the observational unit) and experimental error (broken into measurement error).

Question 13

How are control animals determined?

Answer 13

Concurrent controls with baselines for treatments to account for daily, monthly, seasonal, or yearly changes.

Question 14

How are statistical power and group size related?

Answer 14

A power analysis is based on effect size, standard deviation, significance (0.05), and a level of power (-1.0 to 1.0).

Question 15

What is a type 1 error?

Answer 15

Deciding there is a treatment effect when there is not.

Question 16

What is a type 2 error?

Answer 16

Deciding there is no treatment effect when there is.