Generating Evidence Through Practice-based Equine Health Surveillance

Abstract

The results of routine disease surveillance can be used to:• Underpin and direct evidence-based veterinary medicine in equine practice • Improve the provision of equine healthcare through the more targeted training of veterinary professionals • Identify priorities for equine research that are relevant to the diseases that affect a large number of UK horses By supporting these activities Equine VetCompass will improve the long-term health and welfare of the individual horse and the larger equine population.Background: Evidence-based veterinary medicine (EBVM) is the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of the current best evidence, when making decisions about the individual patient 1 . Despite being shown to improve patient outcomes 2 , the application of EBVM in equine practice remains seriously hampered by the lack of reliable data, even for the most common conditions 3 .Accurate prevalence data, needed to guide the diagnostic process, are in short-supply owing to the comprehensive absence of disease monitoring in the UK horse population 4 . Estimates from laboratory submissions, owner-reported surveys and clinical studies, offer some insight but are prone to incompleteness, bias and poor generalisability 5 . Analysis of electronic clinical records (ECRs) from first-opinion veterinary practices, as conducted by VetCompass, can provide a more accurate assessment 6 .Since its launch in 2009, the RVC's VetCompass project has collected over 10 million ECRs from small animal practices. These have been analysed to quantify the most common disorders affecting dogs and cats 7,8 and to establish risk factors for several important conditions 9,10 . Excitingly, VetCompass has now been adapted for use in equine practice, providing enormous opportunity for the study of equine health and the generation of robust disease statistics.References:

A study of the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on equine veterinary care in the UK

“…Although horse demographic data were poorly recorded (only 38.4% of the study population had complete age, sex and breed details recorded), age and breed distributions were comparable to previous reports. [8][9][10][11] Sex distribution was also compatible with previous work when considered as a binary variable (male/female). However, the proportion of entire males in our study population was higher than expected and likely reflected failure to update an animal's record following castration.…”

“…The collaborating veterinary practices represent a convenience sample that may limit the generalisability of findings, especially given that the majority of practices were in southern England. Although horse demographic data were poorly recorded (only 38.4% of the study population had complete age, sex and breed details recorded), age and breed distributions were comparable to previous reports 8–11 . Sex distribution was also compatible with previous work when considered as a binary variable (male/female).…”

Use of antimicrobials licensed for systemic administration in UK equine practice

“…In addition, the association between sex and Category B antimicrobials may be biased towards females as these antimicrobials are commonly used in the treatment of uterine disorders. Previous work exploring the collective use of third‐ and fourth‐generation cephalosporins and quinolones found no differences between the sexes when indication was included in the risk factor model 40 …”