Epidemiological aspects of 306 emergency cases of small animals seen at a veterinary school hospital

Abstract

The deficiencies in the screening protocols and the paucity of epidemiological studies aimed at emergency care contribute to a generalist emergency approach, without focusing on the most common causes and injuries of emergency admissions in veterinary practice. Thus, we aimed to retrospectively study the epidemiological aspects of emergency cases in dogs and cats under routine care at a veterinary school hospital at University X over 24 months (June 2012–June 2014). During this period, 328 cases were considered as emergencies, of which 306 were included in the study. The main causes of emergency admissions in both species were trauma, followed by hypovolemic shock. The third cause differed between species, the most common being neurological emergencies in dogs and urinary emergencies in cats. Knowledge of emergency epidemiological data in the pet clinic is essential for clinical surveillance, case screening, early diagnosis, rapid therapeutic intervention, and avoiding losses in the waiting rooms of veterinary emergency medicine.

Retrospective evaluation of factors associated with emergency frequency and survival in equids presenting for emergency care (2019–2020): 3071 cases

“…1 Emergency admission data available for people and small animals help to shape the policies that determine staffing and training. [2][3][4] Emergency admissions represented approximately 15%-20% of the total equine hospital caseload seen in 1 study. 5 Data concerning variables that affect the number of daily admissions have been examined in both human and veterinary medicine.…”

“…As equine practices increasingly discuss the concept of shared emergency coverage and ways to retain practitioners in the profession, there is a critical need for more data characterizing admission trends in equine emergencies 1 . Emergency admission data available for people and small animals help to shape the policies that determine staffing and training 2–4 . Emergency admissions represented approximately 15%–20% of the total equine hospital caseload seen in 1 study 5 …”