Pain management is an important topic in companion animal medicine and there exists a wide variation in pain assessment, pain management, and their consistent implementation. The result is often a gap between pain incidence and adequate treatment. Eliminating this "pain incidence – pain treatment gap" will be the focus of the GPC. While access to pain treatment modalities may vary from country to country, the ability to diagnosis pain should not and the two would be benefitted through educational efforts that encompass all members of the veterinary healthcare team.
Vision
An empowered, motivated, and globally unified veterinary profession that effectively recognizes and minimizes pain prevalence and impact.
Mission
To raise global awareness and provide a call to action based upon the understanding that all animals are sentient and can therefore feel pain and suffer from it. The Global Pain Council strives to elevate the level of confidence and competence in recognising and managing pain in small animals.
Objectives
- Develop pain assessment and treatment guidelines having universal relevance and maintain their currency
- Develop programmes of education that promote improved awareness of animal pain and its management, taking into account regional differences in attitude, education and available analgesic modalities.
- Build capability and capacity in assessing and managing animal pain internationally, through the supported development of talent.
Committee Resources
Incisional and intraperitoneal anesthesia
Intratesticular anesthesia
Intercostal anesthesia
Intravenous regional anesthesia
Mandibular Nerve Block
Palatine Nerve Block
Infraorbital Nerve Block
Mental Nerve Block
Maxillary Nerve Block
Sciatic Nerve Block
Femoral Nerve Block
Epidural Nerve Block
Chair(s)
Dr Jo Murrell
Jo Murrell joined Bristol Veterinary Specialists after a career in academia, most recently at Bristol University from 2007-2018. While at Bristol she focussed her time on pain research and clinical anaesthesia and has carried out many studies investigating pain mechanisms and clinical analgesic protocols in cats, dogs and horses. These studies have contributed to the Market Authorisation of methadone and buprenorphine in dogs and cats and buprenorphine in horses. Her work has also clearly demonstrated upregulation of pain pathways in dogs with osteoarthritis, highlighting the need for aggressive pain management in these patients.
She has been a Diplomate of the European College in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia since 2002 and enjoys the challenges of clinical anaesthesia. Jo is excited to become co-chair of the WSAVA Global Pain Council with Professor Paulo Steagall and is passionate about providing best practice in analgesia to cats and dogs.Dr Paulo Steagull
Dr. Paulo Steagall is a Professor of Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia at the City University of Hong Kong. He is a board-certified specialist by the American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia. His research is focused on animal welfare and pain management including the Feline Grimace Scale (www.felinegrimacescale.com). He was a previous chair of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) Therapeutic Guidelines Group and previous member of the WSAVA Global Pain Council and Dental Standardization Committee. He was also the co-chair of the 2022 International Society of Feline Medicine Consensus Guidelines on Acute Pain Management and the FECAVA Basic Best Practices in Anaesthesia and Analgesia. Dr. Steagall is a Top 2% most highly cited scientist according to the Stanford University. He has published over 140 scientific articles and the book “Feline Anesthesia and Pain Management” while lecturing internationally.
Members
Dr Mike Petty
Michael Petty is a 1980 graduate from the school of veterinary medicine at Michigan State University, and has worked in private practice his entire career, dedicating his professional life to the prevention of pain and sharing his knowledge through lectures across the world. He is often asked to help veterinary companies in an advisory capacity on pain topics. He is a past-president of the International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management, and is certified in acupuncture, rehabilitation therapy and pain management. He lives in rural Michigan and enjoys nature, reading, walking, gardening and his three Portuguese Water Dogs.
Dr Nameeta Nadkarni
Dr Nameeta Nadkarni is a veterinary surgeon based in Mumbai, India. Passionate about the profession from the age of 9, she pursued her B.V.Sc. from Mumbai Veterinary college and graduated in 2012. In 2015, she completed her post graduation in surgery from the same college. Intrigued by laparoscopic surgery and the minimal pain it promised, she visited Colorado state university in 2014 and 2016 to learn the skill. This enabled her to become one of handful veterinarians practising laparoscopy in India. She’s authored papers and presented abstracts at conferences held by the Veterinary Endoscopy Society on minimally invasive surgery. During the 2020 pandemic, she honed her love for writing and subsequently became a columnist and blogger for one of the leading newspapers in India and various other apps and social media platforms. Today, she practices and freelances as a surgeon and veterinary content writer and aspires to continue raising the standard of veterinary practice in her home country via awareness and education.
Dr Adetola Rasheed Ajadi
Professor Ajadi Rasheed Adetola had his elementary and secondary education at St. Lukes Demonstration School, Molete, Ibadan and Ibadan Grammar School, Molete, Ibadan. He obtained his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree with distinction in veterinary surgery from the University of Ibadan and later his Masters in Veterinary Science in Veterinary Surgery Specialty from the University of Ibadan. Dr. Ajadi obtained the doctor of Philosophy degree in Veterinary Surgery from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. He started his carrier as lecturer II at the University of Ibadan before transferring his appointment to the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. He was a recipient of the International Veterinary Radiology Association Travel grant in 2003 and a visiting scientist to Saint Cloud State University, Saint Cloud, Minnesota in 2012. He is a consultant Surgeon and Radiologist at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta and the current Head of Department, Veterinary Surgery and Theriogenology. He is a member of the International Veterinary Radiology Association, Osteoarthritis Research Society International, Small Animal Veterinary Association of Nigeria and Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association. Dr. Ajadi has authored over 90 publications in the area of Veterinary Anaesthesia, Veterinary Surgery, Osteoarthritis and Diagnostic Imaging in both local and International Journals. He is married to a Veterinary theriogenologist and their marriage is blessed with three boys
Dr Jim Berry
Executive Board Liaison