Letter to the Editor: Bias in statistics or bias in equine veterinary medicine?

Abstract

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/evj.13078

Effects of age, disease and anastomosis on short‐ and long‐term survival after surgical correction of small intestinal strangulating diseases in 89 horses

“…Contrary to the claim that horses recovered with strangulated intestine in place are at risk of SIRS and NSAID-induced complications from mucosal ischaemic injury, 8,35 their favourable short (Table 1)…”

“…Contrary to the claim that horses recovered with strangulated intestine in place are at risk of SIRS and NSAID‐induced complications from mucosal ischaemic injury, 8,35 their favourable short (Table 1) and long‐term survival (Figure 3) rates would suggest the need for further studies on this risk. Possibly, horses that do not need a resection had surgery early in the disease process, as we demonstrated previously, 24 and were in better overall health than those with severe ischaemic injury that required resection, especially JC (Figure 3).…”

“…Other diseases and factors might also need to be addressed to prevent spurious interpretations in survival studies. 8,35 In future studies, appropriate control cases should be followed from study initiation and more accurate methods should be sought to determine causes of death during long-term follow-up.…”

“…The importance of the age and anastomosis effects revealed by multivariable analysis in the current study demonstrates that these can impact survival studies and should be considered in study design. Other diseases and factors might also need to be addressed to prevent spurious interpretations in survival studies 8,35 . In future studies, appropriate control cases should be followed from study initiation and more accurate methods should be sought to determine causes of death during long‐term follow‐up.…”