Epidemiological aspects of 306 emergency cases of small animals seen at a veterinary school hospital

• Main Authors: Gonçalvez, Lucas Alaião, Barreto, José Victor Pronievicz, Silva, Natalino Ferreira da, Campos, Olga Pedroso Silva, Yamanaka, Andreia Rizzieri, Kemper, Daniella Aparecida Godoi, Rego, Fabíola Cristine de Almeida, Amude, Alexandre Mendes
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido (UFERSA) 2020-12-01
• Series: Acta Veterinaria Brasilica
• Online Access: https://periodicos.ufersa.edu.br/index.php/acta/article/view/9409

The deficiencies in the screening protocols and the paucity of epidemiological studies aimed at emergency care contribute to a generalist emergency approach, without focusing on the most common causes and injuries of emergency admissions in veterinary practice. Thus, we aimed to retrospectively study the epidemiological aspects of emergency cases in dogs and cats under routine care at a veterinary school hospital at University X over 24 months (June 2012–June 2014). During this period, 328 cases were considered as emergencies, of which 306 were included in the study. The main causes of emergency admissions in both species were trauma, followed by hypovolemic shock. The third cause differed between species, the most common being neurological emergencies in dogs and urinary emergencies in cats. Knowledge of emergency epidemiological data in the pet clinic is essential for clinical surveillance, case screening, early diagnosis, rapid therapeutic intervention, and avoiding losses in the waiting rooms of veterinary emergency medicine.