“Oh my God, what did I do?” was the frightened cry of Gina Hill, her petite frame quivering with fear, her eyes filling with tears. There, on a table in front of her, was a young female rabbit, almost immobile after being dropped no more than one foot. Hill was an experienced animal care technician and knew that the rabbit was part of an osteoporosis study. The rabbit had given a hard kick, dug its hind nails into Hill's arm and pushed itself free before Hill could do anything. Sobbing, she carefully picked up the rabbit, put it back in its cage and called Steve Margolis, the attending veterinarian.

Margolis was there within minutes and examined the still-frightened animal. “Is it a broken back?” Hill asked. “I don't think so,” said Margolis. “It feels more like a tibial fracture, but I'll take an X-ray to be sure.” “Can you fix it, Steve?” Hill asked. “Maybe,” he replied, “but the injury itself and the problem of trying to repair a fracture in an animal that already has poor bone density may make the rabbit unsuitable for the study.” “Well, I'll wait and see,” said Hill. “Maybe the investigator will let me adopt the rabbit.”

The rabbit did have a fractured tibia, but the bone ends were well aligned. Margolis was able to place a soft cast around the leg, which, surprisingly, the rabbit barely bothered. Hill was allowed to adopt the animal after the cast was removed. When it was time to file the USDA annual report, Margolis asked if the rabbit was to be placed in pain or distress category C, D or E. “Wasn't this a category C (no pain or distress) study to begin with?” asked the IACUC chairman, Larry Covelli. “Yes,” responded Margolis. “Then it's still category C,” said Covelli. “I'm not so sure about that,” said Margolis. “Here's the problem. The rabbit started out as category C, but it was injured. I used anesthesia to cast the leg, and I gave an analgesic after the accident, so maybe it's category D (alleviated pain or distress). But it took me a few minutes to get to the rabbit and about 30 more minutes before I gave the analgesic, so perhaps it should be in category E (unalleviated pain or distress). What do you think, Larry?” “I think the whole incident was a clinical problem and the USDA category is still category C,” answered Covelli.

Margolis left and read the Animal Welfare Act regulations. He couldn't find anything to suggest that a clinical problem that apparently was caused, in part, by the ongoing osteoporosis research required the rabbit to remain in category C. In fact, as far as he could tell, it made no difference if a clinical problem was related or unrelated to the research. The pain or distress category, he believed, was dependent on what the animal actually experienced, not the cause of the problem. Covelli disagreed. He believed that clinical problems and their treatment, whether or not they emanated from a research project, were excluded from determining the USDA pain or distress categories. What do you think?

Response to Protocol Review Scenario: Concur with Covelli

Response to Protocol Review Scenario: C is correct

Response to Protocol Review Scenario: Potential complications