Comparison of grapiprant and meloxicam for management of postoperative joint pain in dogs: A randomized, double‐blinded, prospective clinical trial

Background Grapiprant is a novel anti‐inflammatory drug approved for the treatment of pain associated with osteoarthritis in dogs. Objective Compare the efficacy of grapiprant vs meloxicam for the management of postoperative joint pain in dogs. Animals Forty‐eight dogs presented with cranial cruciate ligament disease and treated by tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) between May 2020 and May 2022. Methods In this randomized, double blinded, prospective clinical trial, client‐owned dogs with naturally occurring unilateral cruciate ligament rupture were enrolled on the day of surgery. The day after surgery, all animals received a subcutaneous injection of 0.2 mg/kg of meloxicam and were randomly assigned to receive either oral grapiprant (2 mg/kg) or meloxicam (0.1 mg/kg), once a day for 14 days, in a blinded manner. The primary endpoint of the study was the pain severity (PSS) and interference (PIS) scores, assessed by the Canine Brief Pain Inventory (CBPI) at day 3, 7, 10 and 15 after the surgery. Results Three days after surgery, grapiprant treated dogs had lower PSS compared to meloxicam treated dogs with a mean ± SD of 2.76 ± 0.18 vs 3.25 ± 0.23, respectively (difference of −0.49 [95% CI −0.94 to −0.04], P = .032). Pain Interference Score was also lower in grapiprant group at day 3 (4.11 ± 0.18 vs 4.69 ± 0.16 in meloxicam group [difference of −0.58 {95% CI −1.03 to −0.13}, P = .013]) and at day 10 (2.23 ± 0.13 vs 2.72 ± 0.28 [difference of −0.49 {95% CI −0.92 to −0.01}, P = .049]). Conclusions and Clinical Importance Our study supports the use of grapiprant as an alternative analgesic to meloxicam for management of postoperative joint pain in dogs.