Objective assessment of chronic pain in donkeys using the donkey chronic pain scale (DCPS): A scale-construction study.
Authors: van Loon Johannes P A M, de Grauw Janny C, Burden Faith, Vos Kayleigh J, Bardelmeijer Lyanne H, Rickards Karen
Journal: Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)
Summary
# Objective Assessment of Chronic Pain in Donkeys: Development of a New Clinical Tool Chronic pain assessment in donkeys has historically lacked standardised objective measures, hindering welfare monitoring and treatment evaluation in this species. Van Loon and colleagues developed and validated the Donkey Chronic Pain Scale (DCPS) by combining behavioural and facial expression parameters, testing it across 77 donkeys (38 with chronic health conditions, 39 healthy controls) assessed twice daily over three consecutive days. The composite DCPS demonstrated excellent inter-observer reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.98) and reliably distinguished between chronically painful and healthy donkeys at all assessment points (P < 0.001), with a cut-off score of 6 yielding 92% sensitivity and 82.5% specificity for chronic painful conditions. Whilst facial expression alone proved insufficiently sensitive for clinical use, the combined behavioural and facial expression approach offers equine professionals a reproducible, evidence-based framework for identifying and monitoring chronic pain in donkeys—a significant advancement given that objective pain assessment remains underutilised in donkey welfare evaluation. Further validation studies are required before routine implementation in practice, but this work provides a foundation for more consistent pain recognition and treatment response monitoring across donkey populations.
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Practical Takeaways
- •The DCPS offers a validated composite tool combining behaviour and facial expression for objectively assessing chronic pain in donkeys, with a practical cut-off score of 6 to guide clinical decision-making.
- •Relying on facial expressions alone is insufficient for pain detection in donkeys; practitioners must incorporate behavioural observations for reliable assessment.
- •Before implementing the DCPS in routine practice, further validation studies are needed to confirm its reliability across different observer types and clinical settings.
Key Findings
- •The Donkey Chronic Pain Scale (DCPS) demonstrated excellent inter-observer reliability with Cronbach's alpha values of 0.96-0.98 across composite, facial expression, and combined scales.
- •A DCPS cut-off score of 6 showed 92% sensitivity and 82.5% specificity for detecting chronic painful conditions in donkeys.
- •Combined behavioural and facial expression-based parameters were significantly more effective than facial expressions alone for identifying chronic pain in donkeys.
- •Significant differences in pain scores were observed between donkeys with chronic conditions and healthy controls at all assessment time points (P < 0.001).