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Epidemiology of road traffic accidents in cats attending emergency‐care practices in the UK
Author(s) -
Conroy M.,
O'Neill D.,
Boag A.,
Church D.,
Brodbelt D.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of small animal practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1748-5827
pISSN - 0022-4510
DOI - 10.1111/jsap.12941
Subject(s) - medicine , incidence (geometry) , odds ratio , logistic regression , road traffic , odds , confidence interval , road traffic accident , emergency medicine , epidemiology , poison control , injury prevention , medical emergency , retrospective cohort study , occupational safety and health , surgery , transport engineering , physics , pathology , optics , engineering
Objectives To estimate the incidence proportion of road traffic accidents in cats attending emergency out‐of‐hours clinics in the UK, identify major risk factors for road traffic accident occurrence and for survival to discharge. Materials and Methods A retrospective study of a cohort of 33,053 cats in the VetCompass database attending emergency‐care practice between January 1, 2012 and February 15, 2014. Incidence proportion was calculated and logistic regression was used to identify risk factors for road traffic accident and survival to discharge following road traffic accident. Results Incidence proportion was estimated at 4∙2% (95% confidence interval: 4∙0 to 4∙4%). Cats aged 6 months to 2 years were at increased odds of road traffic accident, as were male cats and crossbred cats. Odds of road traffic accident were highest in the autumn. Spinal injury, abdominal injury and increasing count of injuries were associated with increased odds of death. Clinical Significance Road traffic accident is a frequent presentation in emergency‐care practice. Identification of risk factors for death within the first 24 hours following a road traffic accident can aid veterinarian and owner decision‐making for treatment of cats involved in a road traffic accident.