How do you measure OA in dogs?

Re: How do you measure OA in dogs?

Ben Walton — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 15:42:23 GMT

Hi Mariette,

I have emailed you the list as requested.

If anyone else is interested, the paper should be open-access, so anyone can read it in full (although it makes for dense reading! Table 6 gives an idea of the questions.) Here's the link one last time!

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0058125

Thanks again,

Ben

Re: How do you measure OA in dogs?

mariette asselbergs — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 15:29:50 GMT

Thanks Ben, I went to that article but it didn't have the list in it, only a reference, so thats why I was asking. I would like to getan idea of what kind of questions the owners would need to assess/answer. Would look forward to the list at mariettejose@hotmail.com?

Mariette

Re: How do you measure OA in dogs?

Ben Walton — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 15:24:40 GMT

Hi Mariette,

LOAD has recently been licensed to Novartis and should be available from them very soon. If you email me at ben.walton@liv.ac.uk in 2-3 weeks I should be able to send you a link.

In the meantime, the most recent paper is open access: http://www.plosone.org/article/metrics/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0058125;jsessionid=45D62A0C02307F83A614A0484B7B30DB

Table 6, which is a summary of the factor analysis performed, should give you an idea of what it includes.

Thanks for enquiring - you'll get a copy very soon!

Ben

Re: How do you measure OA in dogs?

mariette asselbergs — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 15:16:06 GMT

Ben,

where can I find this LOAD?

Thanks

Mariette

Re: How do you measure OA in dogs?

Ben Walton — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 12:09:24 GMT

Thanks Bob,

You pick up on an important piont and a potential use for LOAD: to identify dogs that may benefit from treatment, and to convince their owners that this is the case.

From my experience running a clinical trial on this, OA is woefully underdiagnosed and under-treated.

Kind regards,

Ben

Re: How do you measure OA in dogs?

Ben Walton — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 12:05:15 GMT

Julian,

Thanks for posting. I think you're right - very often the clinical signs of OA are interpreted as something else.

LOAD is made up of 13 items (questions) that the owner scores on a 5-point descriptive scale. The sum of these scores makes up the overall "LOAD Score". The point is that the owner is never asked "How arthritic is your dog?" or "How sore is your dog?". Each item probes a specific part of what we term the "construct" of OA - eg "Rate your dog's stiffness after rest." Each item is based on a simple, subjective assessment of a specific sign - the owner is not expected to interpret these signs in any way.

These multi-item tools have been shown to be far superior to single-item questions.

I also agree that vets are uniquely trained and experienced to interpret the clinical picture. LOAD is not intended to replace veterinary assessment, but to augment it.

Ben

Re: How do you measure OA in dogs?

Bob Russell — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 11:19:00 GMT

A simple questionnaire would be of immense value to persuade some of these owners that the dog is in pain!

As Julian has said plenty of owners are in complete denial of a problem.

I love the line 'your dog is not limping for fun' - now filed away for regular use from now on!!

Clearly you are back in fine form following your accident!

Re: How do you measure OA in dogs?

Julian Earl — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 10:54:27 GMT

I'm not sure owners are capable of assesssing arthritis at all. How often do we hear, "He's not in pain, he's just a bit stiff" or " it's just age"? I am convinced that the only people who really understand how much pain their dog has are those owners also suffering with osteoarthritis themself. They seem to think that dogs limp for fun, or for sympathy! No, the only people to assess this are vets, with input from the owners in terms of how the dog's behaviour has changed over a period of time.

That's my 2pence-worth.