{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,31]],"date-time":"2026-07-31T19:43:12Z","timestamp":1785526992549,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":21,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,20]],"date-time":"2026-05-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779235200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785369600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":71,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001807","name":"Funda\u00e7\u00e3o de Amparo \u00e0 Pesquisa do Estado de S\u00e3o Paulo","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2025\/02797-0 and 2024\/16602-4"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2025\/02797-0 and 2024\/16602-4"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001807","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001807","name":"Funda\u00e7\u00e3o de Amparo \u00e0 Pesquisa do Estado de S\u00e3o Paulo","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2025\/11275-8; 2023\/07961-8 and 2021\/08217-5"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2025\/11275-8; 2023\/07961-8 and 2021\/08217-5"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001807","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Animal Health and Nutrition Consortium"},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100011490","name":"College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["Intramural Research Award"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Intramural Research Award"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100011490","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Porc Health Manag"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Routine piglet processing procedures, such as surgical castration and tail docking, are known to induce pain and stress, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly administered to mitigate these responses. This study evaluated the effects of processing and NSAID administration on physiological and behavioral indicators of pain and stress in male piglets. A total of 120 piglets (5 days old) were randomly assigned to one of eight treatment groups in a 2\u2009\u00d7\u20094 factorial design, including sham or processed piglets receiving intranasal flunixin meglumine, ketoprofen, meloxicam, or saline solution. Piglets underwent surgical castration and tail docking or sham handling one hour after treatment administration. Plasma cortisol concentrations were assessed at baseline, 1\u00a0h, 3\u00a0h, and 24\u00a0h post-procedure, and pain-related behaviors were evaluated using the UNESP-Botucatu Pig Composite Acute Pain Scale (UPAPS). Processed piglets, both with and without NSAID administration, exhibited higher plasma cortisol concentrations than sham piglets at 1\u00a0h post-procedure, indicating an acute stress response, with concentrations returning to baseline by 3\u00a0h and 24\u00a0h. No treatment effects of NSAIDs were observed for cortisol concentrations. Behavioral assessment revealed higher UPAPS scores in processed piglets at 1\u00a0h, 3\u00a0h, and 24\u00a0h compared with sham piglets, indicating persistent pain-related responses. NSAID treatments did not consistently mitigate behavioral pain expression, although ketoprofen-treated piglets exhibited a transient reduction in UPAPS scores at 3\u00a0h post-procedure. Overall, piglet processing elicited acute physiological stress responses and sustained behavioral indicators of pain. These findings support the need for integrated analgesic strategies to more effectively mitigate post-procedural pain and improve piglet welfare.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1186\/s40813-026-00517-1","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,20]],"date-time":"2026-05-20T14:32:28Z","timestamp":1779287548000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Efficacy of intranasal non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on pain responses in castrated and tail-docked piglets"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Cec\u00edlia Archangelo Ferreira","family":"de Melo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Laya Kannan Silva","family":"Alves","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Monique Danielle","family":"Pairis-Garcia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Juliana Bonin","family":"Ferreira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Taylor Brooke","family":"Parker","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Victoria Rocha","family":"Merenda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kristen Michele","family":"Messenger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pedro Henrique Esteves","family":"Trindade","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"517_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1483","DOI":"10.3390\/ani11061483","volume":"11","author":"PV Steagall","year":"2021","unstructured":"Steagall PV, Bustamante H, Johnson CB, et al. Pain Management in Farm Animals: Focus on Cattle, Sheep and Pigs. Animals. 2021;11:1483. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ani11061483.","journal-title":"Animals"},{"issue":"9","key":"517_CR2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1701","DOI":"10.3390\/ani10091701","volume":"10","author":"R Morrison","year":"2020","unstructured":"Morrison R, Hemsworth P. Tail docking of piglets 1: Stress response of piglets to tail docking. Animals. 2020;10(9):1701. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ani10091701.","journal-title":"Animals"},{"issue":"11","key":"517_CR3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0254409","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0254409","volume":"16","author":"E Nixon","year":"2021","unstructured":"Nixon E, Carlson AR, Routh PA, et al. Comparative effects of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs at castration and tail-docking in neonatal piglets. PLoS ONE. 2021;16(11):e0254409. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0254409.","journal-title":"PLoS ONE"},{"key":"517_CR4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"105720","DOI":"10.1016\/j.applanim.2022.105720","volume":"254","author":"ME Lou","year":"2022","unstructured":"Lou ME, Kleinhenz MD, Schroeder R, Lechtenberg K, Montgomery S, Coetzee JF, Viscardi AV. Evaluating the utility of a CO2 surgical laser for piglet tail docking to reduce behavioral and physiological indicators of pain and to improve wound healing: A pilot study. Appl Anim Behav Sci. 2022;254:105720.","journal-title":"Appl Anim Behav Sci"},{"key":"517_CR5","unstructured":"FDA. Approved Animal Drug Products (Green Book) [Internet]. Silver Spring (MD): U.S. Food and Drug Administration; 2025 [cited 2025 Sept 9]. Available from: https:\/\/www.fda.gov\/animal-veterinary\/products\/approved-animal-drug-products-green-book"},{"issue":"7","key":"517_CR6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1202","DOI":"10.3390\/ani10071202","volume":"10","author":"B Wagner","year":"2020","unstructured":"Wagner B, Royal K, Park R, Pairis-Garcia M. Identifying barriers to implementing pain management for piglet castration: a focus group of swine veterinarians. Animals. 2020;10(7):1202.","journal-title":"Animals"},{"issue":"2","key":"517_CR7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"163","DOI":"10.1017\/s1466252321000141","volume":"22","author":"A Baysinger","year":"2021","unstructured":"Baysinger A, Webb SR, Brown J, Coetzee JF, Crawford S, DeDecker A, et al. Proposed multidimensional pain outcome methodology to demonstrate analgesic drug efficacy and facilitate future drug approval for piglet castration. Anim Health Res Rev. 2021;22(2):163\u201376. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/s1466252321000141.","journal-title":"Anim Health Res Rev"},{"key":"517_CR8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"108","DOI":"10.3389\/fvets.2016.00108","volume":"3","author":"SH Ison","year":"2016","unstructured":"Ison SH, Clutton RE, Di Giminiani P, Rutherford KMD. A Review of Pain Assessment in Pigs. Front Veterinary Sci. 2016;3:108. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fvets.2016.00108.","journal-title":"Front Veterinary Sci"},{"key":"517_CR9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1056492","DOI":"10.3389\/fpain.2022.1056492","volume":"3","author":"M Lopez-Soriano","year":"2022","unstructured":"Lopez-Soriano M, Merenda R, Esteves Trindade V, Luna PHL, S. P., Pairis-Garcia MD. Efficacy of transdermal flunixin in mitigating castration pain in piglets. Front Pain Res. 2022;3:1056492.","journal-title":"Front Pain Res"},{"issue":"4","key":"517_CR10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0284218","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0284218","volume":"18","author":"I Robles","year":"2023","unstructured":"Robles I, Luna SPL, Trindade PHE, et al. Validation of the Unesp-Botucatu pig composite acute pain scale (UPAPS) in piglets undergoing castration. PLoS ONE. 2023;18(4):e0284218. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0284218.","journal-title":"PLoS ONE"},{"key":"517_CR11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1156873","DOI":"10.3389\/fpain.2023.1156873","volume":"4","author":"M Lopez-Soriano","year":"2023","unstructured":"Lopez-Soriano M, Merenda VR, Anderson S, Trindade PHE, Leidig MS, Messenger K, Pairis-Garcia MD. Efficacy of inguinal buffered lidocaine and intranasal flunixin meglumine on mitigating physiological and behavioral responses to pain in castrated piglets. Front Pain Res. 2023;4:1156873.","journal-title":"Front Pain Res"},{"issue":"2","key":"517_CR12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"150","DOI":"10.1111\/jvp.13426","volume":"47","author":"EE Wiloch","year":"2024","unstructured":"Wiloch EE, Enomoto H, Smith L, Baynes RE, Messenger KM. Pharmacokinetics of intranasal and intramuscular flunixin in healthy grower pigs. J Vet Pharmacol Ther. 2024;47(2):150\u20133. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/jvp.13426.","journal-title":"J Vet Pharmacol Ther"},{"key":"517_CR13","unstructured":"FASS (The Federation of Animal Science Societies. Guide for the care and use of agricultural animals in agricultural research and teaching. 3er Edition Champaign, IL, USA: American Dairy Science Association, the American Society of Animal Science, and the Poultry Science Association. (2010). 143\u201356. Available on: https:\/\/www.fass.org\/images\/science-policy\/Ag_Guide_3rd_ed.pdf"},{"issue":"10","key":"517_CR14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"383","DOI":"10.1038\/laban.869","volume":"44","author":"CR Dove","year":"2015","unstructured":"Dove CR, Alworth LC. Blood collection from the orbital sinus of swine. Lab Anim. 2015;44(10):383\u20134.","journal-title":"Lab Anim"},{"key":"517_CR15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"943138","DOI":"10.3389\/fpain.2022.943138","volume":"3","author":"M Coutant","year":"2022","unstructured":"Coutant M, Malmkvist J, Kaiser M, Foldager L, Herskin MS. Piglets\u2019 acute responses to procaine-based local anesthetic injection and surgical castration: effects of two volumes of anesthetic. Front Pain Res. 2022;3:943138.","journal-title":"Front Pain Res"},{"issue":"9","key":"517_CR16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"ajvr21120201","DOI":"10.2460\/ajvr.21.12.0201","volume":"83","author":"VR Merenda","year":"2022","unstructured":"Merenda VR, Wagner BK, Arruda AG, et al. Impact of transdermal flunixin administration on serum prostaglandin E\u2082 and cortisol concentrations in piglets following castration. Am J Vet Res. 2022;83(9):ajvr21120201. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.2460\/ajvr.21.12.0201.","journal-title":"Am J Vet Res"},{"key":"517_CR17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"5077","DOI":"10.2527\/jas.2016-0843","volume":"94","author":"F Gottardo","year":"2016","unstructured":"Gottardo F, et al. Pain alleviation during castration of piglets: a comparative study of different farm options. J Anim Sci v. 2016;94:5077\u201388.","journal-title":"J Anim Sci v"},{"issue":"9","key":"517_CR18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1450","DOI":"10.3390\/ani10091450","volume":"10","author":"M Sheil","year":"2020","unstructured":"Sheil M, Polkinghorne A. Optimal Methods of Documenting Analgesic Efficacy in Neonatal Piglets Undergoing Castration. Animals. 2020;10(9):1450. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ani10091450.","journal-title":"Animals"},{"key":"517_CR19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"299","DOI":"10.3389\/fvets.2018.00299","volume":"5","author":"AV Viscardi","year":"2018","unstructured":"Viscardi AV, Turner PV. Use of Meloxicam or Ketoprofen for Piglet Pain Control Following Surgical Castration. Front veterinary Sci. 2018;5:299. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fvets.2018.00299.","journal-title":"Front veterinary Sci"},{"key":"517_CR20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"34","DOI":"10.1186\/1751-0147-53-34","volume":"53","author":"M Hansson","year":"2011","unstructured":"Hansson M, Lundeheim N, Nyman G, et al. Effect of local anaesthesia and\/or analgesia on pain responses induced by piglet castration. Acta Vet Scand. 2011;53:34. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/1751-0147-53-34.","journal-title":"Acta Vet Scand"},{"issue":"6","key":"517_CR21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0233552","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0233552","volume":"15","author":"SPL Luna","year":"2020","unstructured":"Luna SPL, de Ara\u00fajo AL, da N\u00f3brega Neto PI, Brondani JT, de Oliveira FA, Azer\u00eado LMDS\u2026Trindade, P. H. E. Validation of the UNESP-Botucatu pig composite acute pain scale (UPAPS). PLoS ONE. 2020;15(6):e0233552. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0233552.","journal-title":"PLoS ONE"}],"container-title":["Porcine Health Management"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1186\/s40813-026-00517-1","content-type":"text\/html","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1186\/s40813-026-00517-1.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1186\/s40813-026-00517-1.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,31]],"date-time":"2026-07-31T18:07:38Z","timestamp":1785521258000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/10.1186\/s40813-026-00517-1"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,20]]},"references-count":21,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,12]]}},"alternative-id":["517"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/s40813-026-00517-1","relation":{},"ISSN":["2055-5660"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2055-5660","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,20]]},"assertion":[{"value":"17 February 2026","order":1,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"22 April 2026","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"20 May 2026","order":3,"name":"first_online","label":"First Online","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"The study was conducted in accordance with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and was approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of North Carolina State University (IACUC protocol # 23\u2013198).","order":1,"name":"Ethics","label":"Ethical approval","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}},{"value":"All authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript and consent to its publication.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","label":"Consent for publication","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}},{"value":"The authors declare no competing interests.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","label":"Competing interests","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}}],"article-number":"40"}}