Prospective Feasibility and Revalidation of the Equine Acute Abdominal Pain Scale (EAAPS) in Clinical Cases of Colic in Horses.
Authors: Maskato Yamit, Dugdale Alexandra H A, Singer Ellen R, Kelmer Gal, Sutton Gila A
Journal: Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
Summary
# Editorial Summary: Equine Acute Abdominal Pain Scale (EAAPS) Validation in Clinical Colic Assessing pain severity in equine colic remains largely subjective, creating potential inconsistencies in clinical decision-making across referral hospitals. Researchers tested the feasibility and clinical validity of the EAAPS—previously validated using video footage—in 231 colic cases evaluated by 35 clinicians across UK and Israeli practices, comparing its performance against the visual analogue scale (VAS) using no prior training requirement. The EAAPS demonstrated substantial convergent validity with the VAS, good discriminant validity, and comparable predictive power for identifying surgical cases; however, the VAS proved significantly superior for predicting mortality outcomes. Notably, over 90% of assessors rated the EAAPS as quick and easy to use in clinical practice, with more experienced clinicians finding it quicker than less experienced users—making it the first equine pain scale to demonstrate robust real-world feasibility in the referral setting. For practitioners seeking a standardised, user-friendly pain assessment tool to improve consistency in triage and treatment decisions, the EAAPS offers a validated option, though clinicians should acknowledge its limitations in predicting fatal outcomes and continue integrating additional prognostic indicators alongside any pain scoring system.
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Practical Takeaways
- •The EAAPS is a feasible, rapid pain assessment tool for colic cases in referral hospitals that requires no prior training and can be learned quickly by experienced practitioners.
- •Clinicians can confidently use the EAAPS to assess surgical colic cases, though VAS may be preferable when mortality risk stratification is the primary concern.
- •Implementing the EAAPS standardizes subjective pain assessment across clinical teams and improves consistency of colic severity evaluation.
Key Findings
- •The Equine Acute Abdominal Pain Scale (EAAPS) demonstrated substantial convergent validity with visual analogue scale (VAS) assessment in 231 colic cases across two countries.
- •More than 90% of 35 assessors reported the EAAPS as quick/very quick and easy/very easy to use without prior training.
- •EAAPS showed good discriminant validity and similar predictive validity to VAS for surgical treatment, though VAS was significantly superior for mortality prediction.
- •More experienced users found the EAAPS significantly quicker to implement than less experienced participants in clinical settings.