Efficacy and Safety of Deracoxib for the Control of Postoperative Pain and Inflammation Associated with Dental Surgery in Dogs

The efficacy and safety of deracoxib administered at 1-2 mg/kg/day for 3 days was assessed for the control of postoperative pain and inflammation associated with dental surgery in dogs. Client-owned dogs scheduled for dental extractions were premedicated with butorphanol and randomly assigned to receive either deracoxib (n = 31) or placebo (n = 31) preoperatively and again once daily for 2 additional days. Dogs were evaluated prior to and after surgery using a modified Glasgow Composite Pain Scale (mGCPS). Dogs could be rescued at any time if they scored ≥4 on the mGCPS or in cases of obvious discomfort. Rescued dogs were considered treatment failures for determining treatment response and were removed from the study. Of the 62 dogs enrolled, 57 were usable for the efficacy analyses and all were assessed for safety. Four of 27 deracoxib-treated dogs (14.8%) were rescued compared to 20 of 30 placebo dogs (66.7%) (P = 0.0006). Deracoxib-treated dogs also had numerically lower mGCPS scores. Eight of 31 deracoxib dogs (26%) had adverse events reported compared to 6 of 31 placebo dogs (19%). Results indicate perioperative administration of deracoxib to dogs at 1-2 mg/kg/day for 3 days significantly improves analgesia after dental surgery.