Surgical interventions, outcome in feline trauma patients
This study aimed to determine signalment, injury type, trauma severity score, and outcome of feline trauma patients undergoing surgical (emergency room [ER] and operating room [OR]) and nonsurgical treatments in addition to time to surgery, specialty services involved, and cost in the OR surgery population.
Researchers included 251 cats presenting for traumatic injury between May 2017 and July 2020 in the retrospective study.
Demographics and outcomes were compared for cats undergoing surgical intervention in an OR (12%, 31/251) or an ER (23%, 58/251) setting and feline trauma patients without surgical intervention (65%, 162/251). Between the two surgical groups, 99% survived to discharge compared to 73.5% of the nonsurgical group (P < 0.0001).
For the OR surgical cohort, researchers reviewed electronic medical records to determine the specialty surgery service involved, time to and duration of anesthesia and surgery, and visit cost.
The most common surgery services involved were orthopedics (41%, 12/29) and dentistry (38%, 11/29), and the most common surgeries performed were mandibular fracture stabilization (8/29) and internal fixation for long bone fractures (8/29).
The ER surgical group had a significantly lower Animal Trauma Triage score than the OR group (P < 0.0001), but a significant difference was not found between OR surgical and nonsurgical groups (P = 0.0553). No difference in modified Glasgow Coma Scale score was found between any groups.
In conclusion, surgical intervention in feline trauma patients appears to be associated with higher survival rates, but no difference in mortality was found across surgery services.
OR surgical intervention, in particular, orthopedic surgery, was associated with increased length of hospitalization, increased cost, and increased use of blood products.
Corey J Fisher, et al. “Surgical interventions and outcome in a population of feline trauma patients.” J Vet Emerg Crit Care (San Antonio). 2023 Apr 29. doi: 10.1111/vec.13291.
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