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Novel tool aids diagnosis of Cushing's syndrome in dogs
Cushing's syndrome is a condition caused by an imbalance of cortisol.
Tool designed to help practices evaluate individual patient risk.

A new tool designed to help veterinary practices assess the risk of Cushing's syndrome in dogs has been developed by researchers at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC).

The tool, described in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, can be used by practices to evaluate individual patient risk ahead of confirmatory testing. It consists of 10 'predictive' factors for Cushing's syndrome and reports the chance of having the disease based on these factors. 

Imogen Schofield, co-author and PhD student at the RVC, said: “The output from this research provides clinicians in primary-care practice with an easy to use and intuitive tool that can aid decision-making during the often frustrating process of diagnosing Cushing’s syndrome. Using our tool to assess how likely a suspected dog is of having Cushing’s syndrome before undertaking further testing could reduce inappropriate use of currently available diagnostic tests.” 

Cushing's syndrome is a condition caused by an imbalance of cortisol. Common signs of the disease include frequent passing of large volumes of urine, excessive thirst and excessive appetite. 

Until now, Cushing's syndrome was difficult to diagnose because the clinical signs are often no specific to the disease. Moreover, there is no single, accurate test for the condition, and test are often overused, making it difficult to interpret the results.

In a bid to support vets in practice, the VetCompass team at the RVC set out to develop a novel tool that could be used in practice settings. 

Their study was based on data from hundreds of dogs tested for Cushing’s syndrome across more than 800 UK veterinary practices. It also used data on dogs’ demographics, clinical signs at presentation and laboratory results. 

Greg Williams from Dechra Veterinary Products Ltd, which funded the study, said: “Dechra has established itself as an expert in endocrinology and is committed to paving the way forward in this area. 

"Reaching a diagnosis of Cushing’s syndrome can often be seen as a hurdle, before being able to start treatment for this important disease. Therefore, the primary aim of this research was to develop a new tool that directly supports vets in practice with the diagnosis of Cushing’s syndrome.”

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Vets to run marathon for World Animal Protection

News Story 1
 Two recently graduated veterinary surgeons will be running the London Marathon in April to raise money for the charity World Animal Protection.

Alex Bartlett and Maeve O'Neill plan to run the race together if they are given the same start times.

Dr O'Neill said: "You're always limited in what you can do to help animals, so it is nice to raise money for a charity that helps animals around the world."

Dr Bartlett added: "I have never run a marathon before and am excited to run my first one for such a good cause!"

Both Dr Bartlett and Dr O'Neill have fundraising pages online. 

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News Shorts
BSAVA releases new Guide to Procedures

The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) has published a new edition of its Guide to Procedures for Small Animal Practice.

It has added four new procedures; cystostomy tube placement, endotracheal intubation, point-of-care ultrasound and wet-to-dry dressings.

BSAVA says that it is an essential step-by-step guide to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed in practice. The textbook includes new images and illustrations, as well as high-definition videos for use prior to procedures.

Nick Bexfield and Julia Riggs, editors of the new edition, said: "We have built upon the success of the previous editions by responding to the feedback received from the BSAVA readership, and hope this new guide helps to further increase the confidence and accuracy with which these procedures are performed."

Print copies are available in the BSAVA store, with a digital version in the BSAVA library.