Degenerative mitral valve disease in dogs attending UK practices


EQUINE VETCOMPASS
GENERATING EVIDENCE THROUGH

PRACTICE-BASED EQUINE HEALTH SURVEILLANCE
Sarah Allen, Dave Brodbelt, Josh Slater, Kristien Verheyen

Collect VeNom codes, free-text 
clinical notes and select patient 

information e.g. age, sex and breed

Embed VeNom codes into 
the electronic clinical records 

system of participating 
practices

Create a set of 
diagnostic                  

(VeNom) codes 
relevant to                   

first-opinion 
equine practice                      

GUIDING EVIDENCE-BASED EQUINE HEALTHCARE

Aim: To create an efficient and sustainable practice-based system for equine health surveillance

Objectives:

At each care episode have the attending veterinary surgeon tag the                                                
patient record with the VeNom code that best describes the reason for examination

Feedback study findings 
to support EBVM

Analyse records 
to estimate frequency 

of, and identify risk 
factors for, common 
equine conditions

Relevance: Electronic clinical records, from first-opinion veterinary practices, represent a valuable yet currently underused 
source of equine disease information.  The development of Equine VetCompass will facilitate the use of this data for the 

monitoring of health in the national horse population. 

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 patient1.  Despite being shown to improve patient outcomes2, the application 

of EBVM in equine practice remains seriously hampered by the lack of reliable data, even for the most common conditions3.  

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 population4.  Estimates from laboratory submissions, owner-reported surveys and clinical 
studies, offer some insight but are prone to incompleteness, bias and poor generalisability5.  Analysis of electronic clinical 
records (ECRs) from first-opinion veterinary practices, as conducted by VetCompass, can provide a more accurate assessment6.

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 cats7,8 and to establish risk factors for several important 
conditions9,10.  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: 

1. Sackett, D.L., Rosenberg, W.M.C., Gray, J.A.M. and Haynes, R.B. (1996) Evidence-based medicine: what it is and what it isn't. Br. med. J. 312, 71-72.
2. Bahtsevani, C., Udén, G. and Willman, A. (2004) Outcomes of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines: a systematic review. Int. J. Technol. Assess. Health Care 20, 427-433.
3. Marr, C.M. (2003) Defining the clinically relevant questions that lead to the best evidence: what is evidence-based medicine? Equine Veterinary Journal 35 (4) 333-336
4. Equine Sector Council [online] Available at: http://www.newc.co.uk/law/equine-health-welfare-strategy/ [Accessed 27 November 2015]
5. Ireland, J.L., Wylie, C.E., Collins, S.N., Verheyen, K.L.P. and Newton, J.R. (2013) Preventive health care and owner-reported disease prevalence in horses and ponies in Great Britain. Research in Veterinary Science 95(2):418-24
6. McGreevy, P.D. (2007) Breeding for quality of life. Animal Welfare 16: 125–128.
7. O’Neill, D.G., Church, D.B., McGreevy, P.D., Thomson, P.C. and Brodbelt, D.C. (2014) Prevalence of disorders of dogs attending primary-care veterinary practices in England. PLoS One. 2014 Mar 4; 9(3)e90501
8. O’Neill, D.G., Church, D.B., McGreevy, P.D., Thomson, P.C. and Brodbelt, D.C. (2014) Prevalence of disorders recorded in cats attending primary-care veterinary practices in England. Veterinary Journal. 202 (2) 286-291.
9. Stephens, M., O’Neill, D., Church, D., McGreevy, P.D., Thomson, P.C. and Brodbelt, D. (2014) Feline hyperthyroidism reported in primary-care veterinary practices in England: prevalence, associated factors and spatial distribution. Veterinary Record. 175(18):458
10. Taylor-Brown, F E and Meeson, R L and Brodbelt, D C and Church, D B and McGreevy, P D and Thomson, P C and O'Neill, D G (2015) Epidemiology of Cranial Cruciate Ligament Disease Diagnosis in Dogs Attending Primary-Care Veterinary Practices in England. 

Veterinary Surgery, 44 (6). pp. 777-83

Contact: seallen@rvc.ac.uk

http://www.newc.co.uk/law/equine-health-welfare-strategy/