Monitoring equine head-related pain with the Equine Utrecht University scale for facial assessment of pain (EQUUS-FAP)

This study validates a recently described pain scale, the Equine Utrecht University scale for facial assessment of pain (EQUUS-FAP), in horses with acute or postoperative pain originating from the head, including dental pain, ocular pain, or trauma to the skull. This cohort study of 23 horses with head related pain and 23 normal, healthy controls revealed significant differences in EQUUS-FAP scores between control horses and horses with acute or postoperative pain (P < 0.001). Moreover, pain scores after surgery decreased significantly over time (P < 0.001). The scale showed good inter-observer reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.92), sensitivity (80%), specificity (78%), and positive (80%) and negative predictive values (78%). (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.