Canine Cruciate Registry goes live

An anonymised data collection audit tool that will enable vets to share information on techniques and procedures to continuously improve patient care has gone live.

RCVS Knowledge has launched the Canine Cruciate Registry as a free way for vets to access anonymised information worldwide.

Data collection

RCVS Knowledge will be collecting data from vets and dog owners on patients recovering from cruciate surgery to identify procedures and techniques with the best outcomes.

Injury to the cruciate ligament is one of the leading causes of lameness in dogs, affecting 1 in every 200 individual dogs a year.

The digital registry is the first of its kind in veterinary medicine and involves a web-based series of questions that vets and dog owners are asked to complete throughout the dog’s care, to monitor its long-term progress.

Different techniques

Clinical lead for the RCVS Knowledge Canine Cruciate Registry Mark Morton said: “We want to work with as many vets and dog owners as possible. We want to know about complications; we want to know about different techniques and how dogs recover so we can build a knowledge base for vets around the world to improve the quality of care they provide.

“As vets, it’s our job to advise owners on treatments options, as well as what can go wrong with those treatment options and how often these potential complications may occur.

“I invite all vets in the UK, as well as owners caring for dogs having cruciate surgery, to join us and help improve outcomes for all patients in the future.”

‘Hugely exciting’

Amanda Boag, who chairs the RCVS Knowledge board of trustees, said: “This is a hugely exciting step forward in developing quality improvement initiatives within the veterinary profession, and potentially transformational in terms of consistency and quality of care for our patients.

“I applaud the vision of the surgeons in setting this registry up and am keen to see how the same approach can be applied in other common disease conditions.”