• DVM360_Conference_Charlotte,NC_banner
  • ACVCACVC
  • DVM 360
  • Fetch DVM 360Fetch DVM 360
DVM 360
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
By Role
AssociatesOwnersPractice ManagerStudentsTechnicians
Subscriptions
dvm360 Newsletterdvm360 Magazine
News
All News
Association
Breaking News
Conference Coverage
Education
Equine
FDA
Law & Ethics
Market Trends
Medical
Politics
Products
Recalls
Regulatory
Digital Media
dvm360 LIVE!™
Expert Interviews
The Vet Blast Podcast
Medical World News
Pet Connections
The Dilemma Live
Vet Perspectives™
Weekly Newscast
dvm360 Insights™
Publications
All Publications
dvm360
Firstline
Supplements
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vetted
Clinical
All Clinical
Anesthesia
Animal Welfare
Behavior
Cardiology
CBD in Pets
Dentistry
Dermatology
Diabetes
Emergency & Critical Care
Endocrinology
Equine Medicine
Exotic Animal Medicine
Feline Medicine
Gastroenterology
Imaging
Infectious Diseases
Integrative Medicine
Nutrition
Oncology
Ophthalmology
Orthopedics
Pain Management
Parasitology
Pharmacy
Surgery
Toxicology
Urology & Nephrology
Virtual Care
Business
All Business
Business & Personal Finance
Hospital Design
Personnel Management
Practice Finances
Practice Operations
Wellbeing & Lifestyle
Continuing Education
Conferences
Conference Listing
Conference Proceedings
Resources
CBD in Pets
CE Requirements by State
Contests
Veterinary Heroes
Partners
Spotlight Series
Team Meeting in a Box
Toolkit
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vet to Vet
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Advertisement
By Role
  • Associates
  • Owners
  • Practice Manager
  • Students
  • Technicians
Subscriptions
  • dvm360 Newsletter
  • dvm360 Magazine
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us
  • MJHLS Brand Logo

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences™ and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Rethinking Osteoarthritis: Findings From the 2019 VET Report

January 23, 2019
Jennifer Nessel

OA and overweight/obesity in pets are inextricably linked. Banfield’s new report offers tools and insight for better management of these patients.

Osteoarthritis (OA) and excess weight work synergistically to decrease the health and quality of life of dogs and cats, according to the 2019 Veterinary Emerging Topics (VET) Report from Banfield Pet Hospital released this week. Among patients diagnosed with OA in the hospital network in 2017, about 51% of dogs and 41% of cats were also diagnosed as overweight or obese.

“As an industry, we face an uphill battle as excess weight becomes normalized and associated conditions like osteoarthritis are on the rise,” said Daniel Aja, DVM, Banfield’s chief medical officer. “With the goal of advancing pet health, our third annual VET Report provides insights into these trends and offers veterinary professionals access to information and resources they can use to manage patients with osteoarthritis.”

The report considers 3 areas of concern for pets with OA—weight gain, reduced mobility, and the progress of arthritic changes—and offers veterinarians a means to better manage and treat these patients. Data were collected from among the 1024 Banfield Pet Hospitals throughout the United States and Puerto Rico between January 1 and December 31, 2017, with the records of 2250 pets (1500 dogs and 750 cats) diagnosed with OA selected randomly for a manual review.

Managing Osteoarthritis

Successful management of OA requires a multifaceted approach, including a combination of diagnostic testing, multimodal pain control, and weight management. As the Banfield data show, however, this ideal approach is not always the path taken. Consider these findings among Banfield hospitals for pets newly diagnosed with OA:

Advertisement
  • Radiographs were obtained for only 28% of dogs and 23% of cats.
  • Only about 4% of patients were given a pain score.
  • Nearly half of patients were sent home with no pain medication.
  • Less than 10% of patients were prescribed a veterinary diet for mobility or weight management.

Clearly, achieving better patient outcomes will require improvements in the diagnosis and management of OA.

Overcoming Barriers to Treatment

The primary barriers hindering the management of OA in veterinary medicine include the cost of treatment, hospital time restraints, noncompliance, and owners’ lack of recognition that their pet is painful or overweight.

RELATED:

  • The Power of Nutrition in Disease Prevention
  • Pet Obesity: Good News and Bad News
  • Osteoarthritis in Cats

The good news is that these barriers can be overcome. To improve comfort, mobility, and quality of life in OA patients, the report recommends 5 opportunities for veterinary professionals to improve their approach and partner more closely with pet owners:

  • Dispense pain medication for all pets when a diagnosis of OA is made. Not only will this improve the pet’s comfort level immediately, it will also show clients the value of therapeutic management.
  • Incorporate existing tools for earlier identification of OA. This can be facilitated with the use of client education materials, activity tracking, and the use of a validated pain and/or quality of life scale.
  • Make dietary recommendations, every time. Data show not only that joint health and weight management diets can be very effective for weight loss, but also that pet owners want nutrition advice for their pets. However, few veterinarians make these recommendations for patients with OA.
  • Assist with weight management. Help clients understand what overweight/obesity looks like, offer tools that can help with pet weight loss, and celebrate with clients the small victories on the weight loss journey.
  • Include the entire team. Weight checks, diet consultations, and overall evaluations should involve the entire staff.


Advertisement

Latest News

FDA approves first generic moxidectin injectable solution for cattle parasite treatment

UC Davis oral surgeons repair kitten’s severe left palate

Dermatology expert explains the PSPP system when dealing with ear disease

To refer or not to refer

View More Latest News
Advertisement