Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Survival rates and outcomes after different types of cat trauma
By Gregory, Carly W et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary emergency and critical care (San Antonio, Tex. : 2001)·2023·Department of Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Evaluation of outcome associated with feline trauma: A Veterinary Committee on Trauma registry study.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A study looked at nearly 4,000 cats that suffered from different types of trauma to see how well they recovered. Cats with penetrating injuries, like bites or cuts, had the highest survival rate at 90%, while those with blunt trauma, such as being hit by a car, had a lower survival rate of 80%. The research found that cats with combined injuries (both blunt and penetrating) had the worst outcomes, with only 68% surviving. Most cats did not need surgery, but when it was performed, it was more common for blunt trauma cases to be treated in the operating room.
People also search for: cat trauma recovery · cat injury survival rate · penetrating trauma in cats treatment
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate outcome (survival to discharge) among trauma types (blunt, penetrating, both) in cats. Secondary objectives were to evaluate for associations between trauma type, injury severity, and the diagnostics and interventions selected by primary clinicians. DESIGN: Retrospective evaluation of veterinary trauma registry data. SETTING: Veterinary Committee on Trauma (VetCOT) veterinary trauma centers (VTCs). ANIMALS: A total of 3895 feline trauma patients entered in the VetCOT trauma registry from April 1, 2017 to December 31, 2019. INTERVENTIONS: Data collected included patient demographics, trauma type, Abdominal Fluid Score (AFS), Animal Trauma Triage (ATT) score, surgical intervention, glide sign on Thoracic Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma, Triage, and Tracking (TFAST), pleural effusion on TFAST, modified Glasgow Coma Scale (mGCS), and outcome (survival to discharge). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Data from 3895 cats were collected over a 30-month period. Incidence of trauma types was as follows: blunt, 58% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 56%-59%); penetrating, 35% (95% CI: 34%-37%); and combination, 7.4% (95% CI: 6.7%-8.3%). Differences in survival incidence among the trauma types were identified: blunt, 80% (95% CI: 78%-81%); penetrating, 90% (95% CI: 89%-92%); and combined, 68% (95% CI: 63%-74%) (P < 0.01). Cats in the penetrating trauma group had the lowest proportion of severe injuries (6%) and highest proportion of mGCS of 18 (89%); cats with combined trauma had the highest proportion of severe injuries (26%) and lowest proportion of mGCS of 18 (63%). Point-of-care ultrasound and surgery were not performed in the majority of cases. When surgery was performed, the majority of blunt cases' procedures occurred in the operating room (79%), and the majority of penetrating cases' procedures were performed in the emergency room (81%). CONCLUSIONS: Cats suffering from penetrating trauma had the best outcome (survival), lower ATT scores, and higher mGCS overall. Cats that sustained a component of blunt trauma had a lower survival rate, higher ATT scores, and the highest proportion of mGCS <18.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36636787/