This study provides a benchmark for the ongoing surveillance of veterinary events in NH flat racing. These results support the phasing out of NH flat races restricted to conditional jockeys and highlight the need for further work to establish why NH flat racing Thoroughbreds competing in their first race are at increased risk for death.

BackgroundJudicious antimicrobial use (AMU) is important for preserving therapeutic effectiveness. Large‐scale studies of antimicrobial prescribing can provide clinical benchmarks and help identify opportunities for improved stewardship.ObjectivesTo describe systemic AMU in UK equine practice and identify factors associated with systemic and Category B (third and fourth generation cephalosporins, quinolones and polymixins) AMU.Study designRetrospective cohort.MethodsAnonymised electronic patient records (EPRs) for all equids attended by 39 UK veterinary practices between 1 January and 31 December 2018 were collected via the VetCompass programme. Systemic antimicrobial prescriptions were identified using electronic keyword searches. Indications for AMU were determined through manual review of a randomly selected subset of EPRs. The types and frequency of systemic antimicrobials prescribed and indications were summarised using descriptive statistics. Mixed‐effects logistic regression was used to evaluate practice‐ and horse‐related risk factors.ResultsSystemic antimicrobials were prescribed to 12 538 (19.5%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 19.2%–19.8%) of 64 322 equids attended in 2018. Category B antimicrobials were prescribed to 1.9% (95% CI: 1.8%–2.0%) of attended equids and in 8.9% (95% CI: 8.5%–9.4%) of antimicrobial courses. Bacteriological culture was performed in 19.1% (95% CI: 17.1%–21.3%) of Category B antimicrobial courses. The most commonly prescribed antimicrobial classes were potentiated sulphonamides (50.2% of equids receiving antimicrobials) and tetracyclines (33.5% of equids receiving antimicrobials). Integumentary disorders were the most common reason for systemic AMU (40.5% of courses). Urogenital disorders were the most common reason for Category B AMU (31.1% of courses). Increased odds of systemic and Category B AMU were observed in equids <1 year compared with those aged 5–14 years. Breed was associated with AMU, with odds of systemic and Category B AMU highest in Thoroughbreds and Thoroughbred crosses.Main limitationsConvenience sample of practices may limit generalisability.ConclusionsEmpirical use of Category B antimicrobials remains commonplace.

This paper reports on a survey and interviews carried out with adults who have gone through the cochlear implantation pathway. It explores their experiences of current services, the assessment process for implantation, and the impact on their daily lives, including views and experiences on communication, independence and confidence. It also explores, in today's financially challenging climate, their awareness of current funding issues and the value of their implant to them.

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: