Systematic Review of Outcome Measures Reported in Clinical Canine Osteoarthritis Research

Abstract

ObjectiveTo record and categorize the outcome measures used in dogs with naturally occurring osteoarthritis (OA) by systematically reviewing the peer reviewed publications on OA in dogs.Study DesignSystematic literature review.Study PopulationPeer reviewed literature on canine OA.MethodsA computer‐based bibliographic search was performed on PubMed and CAB Abstracts in August 2013 to find peer reviewed publications relevant to canine OA. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied. The outcome measures reported within each publication were recorded and categorized for comparison. Adequately described outcome measures were assessed for uniqueness and evidence of prior validation.ResultsOf 3,697 publications identified and screened, 117 were deemed eligible for inclusion. Within eligible publications, outcome measures were used 618 times (median of 4 outcome measures per publication). Outcomes measured were divided into 5 groups containing 65 categories. The most frequently assessed outcomes were lameness assessment with no stated gait/mixed gaits (66 outcomes), radiography (58), and lameness single gait/lateral motion (55). Of 618 outcome measures reported, 491 were assessed for uniqueness and 348 (71%) were unique to a single publication. Ten outcome measures were reported to have been validated.ConclusionMany outcome measures have been used to assess canine OA. There is no consensus on which are the most useful outcomes or by which method they should be assessed. There is a pressing need for agreement on outcomes reporting in canine OA and for validation of outcome measures used for these assessments. Until consensus is reached, we recommend at least one validated outcome measure be used in every clinical study.

Evaluation of Intravenously Delivered Allogeneic Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Treatment of Elbow Osteoarthritis in Dogs: A Pilot Study

“…Validated questionnaires 21 including CBPI, Liverpool osteoarthritis in dogs and client-specific outcome measures (CSOM) were administered at day -28, 0, 45, 90 and 180. For CSOM activity score, owners listed up to five time-and place-specific activities that were problematic for their dogs due to osteoarthritis.…”

Efficacy of an oral nutraceutical for the treatment of canine osteo arthritis

“…Although the benefit was small and some of the differences persisted, they recommended that more highquality studies are needed to assess the benefits of chondroitin in osteoarthritis, and the popularity of chondroitin as an over-the-counter supplement could be related to its associated low risk. Efficacy of clinical interventions in the veterinary profession largely rely on the veterinarian and owner assessments for determination of outcomes (18,19). While these assessments are important, measuring objective changes in the patient after an intervention would complement conclusions about the efficacy of the treatment.…”

Influence of orthopedic examination on lameness scores and interobserver and intraobserver agreement in dogs with naturally occurring elbow osteoarthritis

“…Gait evaluation is typically documented in the medical record through specific descriptive observations and subjective lameness scores that allow consistency and unambiguous communication between veterinary practitioners. Lameness scores are additionally used in conjunction with other outcome measures, such as force plate analysis, to evaluate the effect of intervention on lameness …”

“…Two such lameness scores in the dog are the numerical rating score (NRS) and the visual analog score (VAS) . The NRS for lameness includes four to six descriptive categories with increasing severity of clinical signs of pain and/or lameness .…”

“…[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] Two such lameness scores in the dog are the numerical rating score (NRS) and the visual analog score (VAS). [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] The NRS for lameness includes four to six descriptive categories with increasing severity of clinical signs of pain and/or lameness. 10,12 The level of lameness, or a descriptive term, is typically predetermined to correspond with how evaluators grade the gait of the animal or limb in question.…”