Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cost comparison of medical vs surgical treatment for dog pyothorax
By Bach, Jonathan F & Balakrishnan, Anusha·Published in The Canadian veterinary journal = La revue veterinaire canadienne·2015·Department of Medical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Retrospective comparison of costs between medical and surgical treatment of canine pyothorax.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with a serious chest infection called pyothorax were treated either with medication or surgery to see which was more cost-effective. The study found that treating pyothorax with medication was generally less expensive than waiting to perform surgery, especially if the surgery was done early. For pet owners, this suggests that if your dog is diagnosed with pyothorax, starting with medical treatment might save money, but if surgery is needed, getting it done sooner rather than later could also help reduce costs.
People also search for: dog pyothorax treatment cost · canine chest infection surgery · pyothorax medication for dogs
Abstract
This study compared costs of treating dogs with pyothorax medically versus surgically. Medical records from the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine were searched for cases of pyothorax that underwent either medical or surgical treatment. Patients undergoing surgery were subdivided into early (ES; < 48 h) and late (LS; > 48 h) surgery groups. Costs and length of stay were compared between treatment groups. Treatment costs were adjusted for inflation. Nineteen dogs were included in analysis; 7 in the medical group (MG), 5 in the ES group, and 7 in the LS group. Total costs were significantly lower in the MG than in the LS group. Total costs were less for the MG than the ES group, and for ES than LS, but the differences did not achieve significance. Preoperative costs were higher in the LS than the ES group. We conclude that surgery for canine pyothorax is less costly if pursued earlier than later.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26538667/