Neutering data sought for national benchmark

Veterinary teams performing neutering in dogs, cats and rabbits are being called on to submit data to a national audit to help establish UK benchmarks in postoperative complication rates.

RCVS Knowledge wants as much data as possible for the National Audit for Small Animal Neutering (NASAN) submitted to its vetAUDIT website by 15 October.

Each year RCVS Knowledge releases national neutering benchmark data so vet teams can compare their figures against the national average and strive to improve neutering outcomes.

2020 figures

This year, 72% of neuters were complication free, 13% were lost to follow-up and 15% of animals suffered an abnormality related to the operation, mostly requiring medical treatment.

One of the knock-on effects of COVID-19 was that data submitted to the NASAN was lower than expected in 2020. RCVS Knowledge says it is important to collect as much data as possible to maintain a realistic view of current benchmarks and how they are changing over time.

Anonymised data can be submitted by the October deadline, and yearly benchmarks are reported in November each year.

Unsubmitted data

Chris Gush, executive director of RCVS Knowledge, said: “Data submitted to the NASAN last year, and so far this year, has been lower than expected – likely due to the strain put on the professions by the pandemic.

“We believe many practices have neutering data that they have not been able to submit yet. We would be grateful for any unsubmitted neutering data for 2020 and 2021 to be sent to the NASAN, when practices are able, so that it can contribute to the national picture and allow us to gain the most accurate representation of the benchmarks for neutering in the UK.”

RVN Lou Northway, RCVS Knowledge’s quality improvement clinical lead, has used the NASAN data for audits within her practice. She said: “I would highly encourage veterinary practices to submit their neutering data to the NASAN. Not only is the national benchmark a useful tool to compare your own practice’s results against, but it allows us to look at how we are doing and update our systems to help improve the care we provide to our patients.”

Data can be submitted via the vetAUDIT website, while current data and resources are available online as part of RCVS Knowledge’s quality improvement resources.