Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How well treatments reduce lameness in dogs with osteoarthritis
By Gagnon, Alexandre et al.·Published in Veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia·2017·Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, Canada·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 We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above.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: Therapeutic response analysis in dogs with naturally occurring osteoarthritis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 213 dogs with hip or knee arthritis (osteoarthritis) were treated with various therapies, including special diets, natural supplements, and pain medications. About 63% of the dogs showed improvement in their pain and ability to move, while only 11% did not respond positively. The study found that dogs with less severe limping were less likely to show improvement, highlighting the importance of managing even mild cases of arthritis. Overall, these treatments helped many dogs feel better and move more comfortably.
People also search for: dog arthritis treatment · osteoarthritis in dogs · natural supplements for dog joint pain
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Reporting the rate of positive (+) and negative (-) responders based on an objective outcome measure of pain-related functional disability/lameness in dogs with naturally occurring osteoarthritis (OA), and the relationship between initial lameness severity and the odds of being a (+) responder. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of published peer-reviewed clinical trials in dogs with naturally occurring OA. ANIMALS: Dogs (n = 213) with hip and/or stifle afflicted-joints. METHODS: A responder analysis was undertaken using a previously determined cut-off value of ±2.0% of body weight using the peak of vertical force (PVF). Among the selected trials, PVF was acquired under similar conditions. Therapeutic approaches were therapeutic diets, natural health products and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. RESULTS: Among dogs receiving a therapeutic approach as described above (n = 121), 62.8% [95% confidence interval, 53.9-70.9] were defined as (+) responders, whereas 11.6% [7.0-18.5] were (-) responders, accounting for a net (+) response rate by 51.2% [42.0-60.4]. In dogs receiving a negative control (n = 92), the net (+) response rate was 1.1% [0.0-5.9]. The number needed to treat was 4, and the effect size 0.7 [0.4-1.0]. The odds ratio of being a (+) responder under the therapeutic approaches was 2.85 [1.57-5.17] (p < 0.001). For every less severe lameness manifested with an increment in PVF by 1% body weight, the chance of being a (+) responder following treatment decreased by 9% (odds ratio 0.91 [0.86-0.97], p = 0.006). CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The rate of (+) responder optimizes decision making for the management of pain-related clinical signs of OA. Evidence-based medicine was further supported by clinical metrics based on an objective outcome measure of pain-related functional disability/lameness. This study also revealed that dogs with a mild lameness are less prone to be improved, emphasizing the need to carefully manage OA dogs in spite of a more subtle affliction.
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/29167071/