Analgesic Drug Consumption Patterns and Efficacy Assessment in Post-Caesarean Cows at Veterinary Facilities in Anambra State

Caesarean section is a frequently performed obstetric intervention in cattle, particularly in cases of foetomaternal disproportion and uterine torsion. Post-operative analgesia is critical to recovery, return to production, and animal welfare, yet systematic data on analgesic drug use patterns and efficacy in post-caesarean cows at Nigerian veterinary facilities are lacking. This study evaluated analgesic drug consumption patterns and pain score outcomes in cows following caesarean section at veterinary clinics and teaching facilities in Anambra State, South East Nigeria. Forty cows undergoing caesarean under paravertebral anaesthesia and xylazine sedation were enrolled. Post-operatively, cows were assigned to one of four analgesic protocols: no analgesia, meloxicam at 0.5 mg/kg intravenously once daily, tramadol at 2 mg/kg intramuscularly twice daily, or meloxicam plus tramadol combination. Pain was assessed using a validated bovine composite pain scale at 2, 6, 12, 24, and 48 hours post-surgery. Feed intake, milk ejection, and wound healing were also monitored as secondary outcome parameters. Cows receiving no post-operative analgesia had the highest pain scores throughout the assessment period and the lowest feed intake at 24 hours. Meloxicam alone and the combination protocol provided superior pain control compared with tramadol alone, with the combination achieving the lowest pain scores at all time points. Feed intake and milk ejection returned to near-normal levels earliest in the combination group. These findings make the case for routine multimodal analgesia in post-caesarean cows at Nigerian facilities and provide evidence to inform future obstetric analgesia guidelines. Keywords: analgesia, caesarean section, cattle, pain assessment, Anambra State.