Vets' attitudes to chronic pain in dogs

Veterinary Record 2012;170:653-654 doi:10.1136/vr.e4290 Andrew Bell, Jenny Helm and Jacky Reid

School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Bearsden, Glasgow G61 1QHe-mail: andrew.bell{at}glasgow.ac.ukWE are conducting a short online survey into veterinary surgeons' attitudes to chronic pain in dogs in order to improve our understanding of current UK practices; …

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Current British veterinary attitudes to the use of perioperative antimicrobials in small animal surgery

Veterinary Record 2012;170:646 doi:10.1136/vr.100292 C. B. Knights, BVetMed MRCVS1, A. Mateus, BVetMed, MVPH, PhD, MRCVS2 and S. J. Baines, MA, VetMB, PhD, CertVR, CertSAS, DipECVS, DipClinOnc, MRCVS3

1Wolfson Centre for Age Related Disease, Room 1.24 Hodgkin Building, Guys Campus, Kings College London, St Thomas St, London, SE1 1UL, UK

2Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead Lane, North Mymms, Hertfordshire AL9 7TA, UK

3Willows Referral Service, Highlands Road, Shirley, Solihull, West Midlands, B90 4NH, UK e-mail for correspondence: chancie.knights{at}googlemail.comA questionnaire was sent to 2951 mixed and small animal veterinary practices to examine the use of perioperative antimicrobials in cats and dogs in the UK. The percentage of respondents who always used antimicrobials in two surgical procedures classified according to NRC criteria as ‘clean’ was 25.3 per cent for removal of a 1 cm cutaneous mass and 32.1 per cent for routine prescrotal castration. Factors considered important in decision-making about when to use antimicrobial agents included immunosuppression, presence of a drain, degree of wound contamination, potential for spillage of visceral contents and implantation of prosthesis. The most common antimicrobial agents mentioned were potentiated amoxicillin (98.0 per cent), amoxicillin (60.5 per cent), clindamycin (21.8 per cent), enrofloxacin (21.7 per cent), cephalexin (18.6 per cent) and metronidazole (12.7 per cent). Forty-three per cent of all responding veterinarians listed a long-acting preparation for perioperative use. The routes used were subcutaneous (76.1 per cent), intravenous (25.8 per cent), intramuscular (19.8 per cent), oral (13.5 per cent) and topical (7.7 per cent). Antimicrobials were given before surgery (66.6 per cent), during surgery (30.2 per cent), immediately after surgery (12.0 per cent) and after surgery (6.3 per cent). This survey has identified the suboptimal use of perioperative antimicrobials in small animal surgery with improvements needed with respect to timing, duration, choice of antimicrobial and a more prudent selection of surgical cases requiring prophylaxis.

Accepted February 8, 2012. Published Online First 4 May 2012 British Veterinary Association

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Attitudes to antimicrobial use: making a difference

Veterinary Record 2012;170:644-645 doi:10.1136/vr.e4277 Alan Radford, BSc, BVSc, PhD, MRCVS1 and Eithne Comerford, MVB, PhD, CertVR, CertSAS, PGCertHE, DipECVS, MRCVS2

1Institute of Infection and Global Health

2Institute of Aging and Chronic Disease, University of Liverpool, Leahurst Campus, Chester High Road, Neston, Cheshire CH64 7TE e-mail: a.d.radford{at}liverpool.ac.ukATTITUDE. It is an interesting word. Of course it generally just means our disposition or feeling towards something. According to Sir Winston Churchill no less, attitude is ‘a little thing that makes a big difference’. Our attitudes are shaped by our life experience, and impact on everything we do, as well as the decisions we make. We own our attitudes, and you might say we are the sum of them. However, and perhaps surprisingly, we may not be aware of how our attitudes form, or how they impact on our daily choices.

As veterinary surgeons, we confront attitudes on a daily basis. We are trained to take on board our clients' attitudes, and to help them make informed decisions. Curiously, however, we don't often reflect on our own attitudes. A review of publications in Veterinary Record since 1982 finds only 24 research papers with the word attitude in the title. Of these, most relate to our desire to understand the attitudes of others (producers, owners, students, policymakers) and only eight to understanding our own attitudes. Of course, this is a crude analysis, but you get the point. Our attitudes as veterinary surgeons shape what we do, but there is a dearth of evidence about them. If veterinary surgeons' attitudes are important, why are most scientists ignoring them? We suspect the answer lies partly in the fact that most of us are not trained that way. As veterinary surgeons, we do ‘quantitative’ science, and are less familiar with what some call ‘qualitative methods’ that seek to answer ‘Why?’ and not just ‘What, how and when’.

It is in this context that it is nice to see, in a paper summarised on p 646 of this week's Veterinary Record, Knights and others (2012) grappling with veterinary attitudes to the use of …

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Current British veterinary attitudes to the use of perioperative antimicrobials in small animal surgery

Veterinary Record 2012;170:646 doi:10.1136/vr.100292 C. B. Knights, BVetMed MRCVS1, A. Mateus, BVetMed, MVPH, PhD, MRCVS2 and S. J. Baines, MA, VetMB, PhD, CertVR, CertSAS, DipECVS, DipClinOnc, MRCVS3

1Wolfson Centre for Age Related Disease, Room 1.24 Hodgkin Building, Guys Campus, Kings College London, St Thomas St, London, SE1 1UL, UK

2Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead Lane, North Mymms, Hertfordshire AL9 7TA, UK

3Willows Referral Service, Highlands Road, Shirley, Solihull, West Midlands, B90 4NH, UK e-mail for correspondence: chancie.knights{at}googlemail.comA questionnaire was sent to 2951 mixed and small animal veterinary practices to examine the use of perioperative antimicrobials in cats and dogs in the UK. The percentage of respondents who always used antimicrobials in two surgical procedures classified according to NRC criteria as ‘clean’ was 25.3 per cent for removal of a 1 cm cutaneous mass and 32.1 per cent for routine prescrotal castration. Factors considered important in decision-making about when to use antimicrobial agents included immunosuppression, presence of a drain, degree of wound contamination, potential for spillage of visceral contents and implantation of prosthesis. The most common antimicrobial agents mentioned were potentiated amoxicillin (98.0 per cent), amoxicillin (60.5 per cent), clindamycin (21.8 per cent), enrofloxacin (21.7 per cent), cephalexin (18.6 per cent) and metronidazole (12.7 per cent). Forty-three per cent of all responding veterinarians listed a long-acting preparation for perioperative use. The routes used were subcutaneous (76.1 per cent), intravenous (25.8 per cent), intramuscular (19.8 per cent), oral (13.5 per cent) and topical (7.7 per cent). Antimicrobials were given before surgery (66.6 per cent), during surgery (30.2 per cent), immediately after surgery (12.0 per cent) and after surgery (6.3 per cent). This survey has identified the suboptimal use of perioperative antimicrobials in small animal surgery with improvements needed with respect to timing, duration, choice of antimicrobial and a more prudent selection of surgical cases requiring prophylaxis.

Accepted February 8, 2012. Published Online First 4 May 2012 British Veterinary Association

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