What groups were included in the meloxicam disbudding study?

• A. A meloxicam-treated group and a placebo (control) group
• B. Meloxicam, ketoprofen, and placebo groups
• C. Only a meloxicam-treated group
• D. Only a placebo group

Answer: (A)

When evaluating whether a drug like meloxicam provides pain relief after disbudding, you need a direct comparison between treated animals and those not receiving the drug. The meloxicam-treated group shows the outcomes with the analgesic, while the placebo group serves as a control to account for any effects of handling, injection, or expectations, so any differences in pain-related measures can be attributed to the drug itself. If there were only a meloxicam group, there’d be no baseline to judge effectiveness; if there were only a placebo group, there’d be no way to assess the drug’s impact. Including an additional NSAID group (like ketoprofen) would shift the study toward comparing analgesics rather than testing meloxicam against no treatment, unless the study was explicitly designed as a multi-arm trial. Therefore, the described design uses two groups: a meloxicam-treated group and a placebo (control) group.