Do opioids provide adequate analgesia for surgical coeliotomy in teleost fish?

Question For teleost fish undergoing surgical coeliotomy, do intramuscular exogenous opioids reduce perioperative pain, compared with no analgesia? Clinical bottom line The category of research question was: Treatment. The number and type of study designs that were critically appraised were: Four studies were critically reviewed. All were randomised controlled trials, 2 with a parallel group design, and 2 with a factorial crossover group design. Critical appraisal of the selected papers meeting the inclusion criteria collectively provide zero/weak/moderate/strong evidence in terms of their experimental design and implementation: Moderate. The outcomes reported are summarised as follows… The studies produced contradicting results regarding the analgesic efficacy of opioids perioperatively, with some evidence of pain alleviation when assessing behavioural parameters, but not when assessing clinical pathology or quantitative cardioventilatory data. In view of the strength of evidence and the outcomes from the studies the following conclusion is made… Perioperative use of opioids for teleost fish undergoing invasive surgical procedures may reduce behavioural changes associated with pain compared with no analgesia, but there is insufficient evidence to determine if they provide adequate pain relief based on the study methodologies.