Proportion of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug prescription in equine practice.

This study aims to understand the prescription habits of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for horses in the UK, USA, and Canada. It revealed that these drugs are prescribed more often in the USA and Canada compared to the UK, with Phenylbutazone and Flunixin Meglumine being the most commonly prescribed across all regions.

Research Methodology

• The researchers conducted a descriptive observational study. They assessed electronic medical records from various equine practices across three countries – UK, USA, and Canada. The sample included records of over 140,000 horses from the UK, 250,000 from the USA, and a smaller set from Canada.
• Prescription data was extracted using a validated text-mining technique. This provided insights into the proportion of horses that were prescribed NSAIDs at least once.
• To better understand NSAID prescription trends, the researchers paid particular attention to prescription choices for two common equine health issues – orthopaedic diseases and colic.

Findings

• The data showed that NSAIDs were prescribed more frequently in the USA (42.4% of horses) and Canada (34.2%) than in the UK (28.6%).
• The most popular NSAIDs across all countries were Phenylbutazone and Flunixin Meglumine. In cases of colic, Flunixin Meglumine was most commonly prescribed, although a significant number of horses received Phenylbutazone, a drug that is only licensed for use in musculoskeletal diseases.
• For orthopaedic diseases, Phenylbutazone followed by Flunixin Meglumine were the most frequently prescribed drugs.
• The use of other NSAIDs, such as Meloxicam, Ketoprofen, or Firocoxib, was rare compared to the two aforementioned drugs.

Conclusions and Caveats

• The researchers noted that the retrospective design of the study may have resulted in incomplete records, especially when it came to reporting colic and orthopaedic diseases.
• They also highlighted potential bias due to the limited number of veterinary practices from which data was sourced for each country.
• Final observations concluded that prescription practices of NSAIDs can vary across countries. However, further research is needed to fully understand the influence of individual veterinarians and specific practice policies on these intercountry differences.
• Despite the availability of numerous NSAIDs and despite significant efforts to study their effectiveness, the use of drugs other than Phenylbutazone and Flunixin Meglumine remains low.