Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Factors affecting heartworm flea and tick prevention in dogs and cats
By Gates, Maureen C & Nolan, Thomas J·Published in Preventive veterinary medicine·2010·School of Veterinary Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Factors influencing heartworm, flea, and tick preventative use in patients presenting to a veterinary teaching hospital.
Plain-English summary
A study looked at how often dog and cat owners use heartworm, flea, and tick preventatives during vet visits. It found that only 13-23% of pet owners were asked about these preventatives when they brought their pets in for check-ups. While around 74-79% of dogs and 12-38% of cats were using these products, many were not consistently using them throughout the year, especially during the winter months. The research highlights the need for better communication between vets and pet owners to improve the use of these important preventatives.
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Abstract
The introduction of modern heartworm, flea, and tick preventatives has provided a safe and effective means of controlling companion animal endoparasites, but achieving good owner compliance remains an ongoing challenge for the veterinary profession. Based on a sample of patients from the veterinary teaching hospital at the University of Pennsylvania, this study retrospectively examined factors associated with preventative use and areas of potential weakness in client communication. Between 1999 and 2006, records of 5276 canine and 1226 feline patients were searched for signalment, survey results for heartworm, flea, and tick preventative use, date of visit, presenting complaint, vaccination history, and owner zip code. Data were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate techniques. Overall, only 13-23% of patients were questioned about heartworm, flea, or tick preventative use during routine medical history taking. Patients with a prior history of parasites, younger patients, or those presenting with signs of cardiac disease were no more likely to be questioned about preventative use than healthy animals. Patients presenting to a specialty service were also less likely to be questioned. Approximately 74-79% of dogs and 12-38% of cats in the sample were on preventative products at any given time. There was a distinct seasonality to preventative use corresponding to the heartworm transmission season from June through November in the northeastern United States. Only 50% of patients seen for a yearly physical examination in winter were reported to be using preventative products when surveyed later in the year, compared to the roughly 85% on patients in heartworm preventatives when they received their routine physical examination in spring. Month of presentation and neuter status were the only signalment factors significantly (P<0.05) associated with preventative use in the multivariate analysis. Findings from this study emphasize target areas for increasing owner compliance.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19931925/