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The clinical diagnosis of equine sarcoids-Part 2: Assessment of case features typical of equine sarcoids and validation of a diagnostic protocol to guide equine clinicians in the diagnosis of equine sarcoids.
Abstract: Research has shown that the accuracy of the clinical diagnosis of equine sarcoids (ES) can be improved. Particularly, less experienced veterinarians are often mistaken in their clinical judgement despite a high level of diagnostic confidence. The aim of this study was to develop and assess the performance of a diagnostic protocol (DP) to improve diagnostic accuracy and identify diagnostically challenging cases. The design of the DP was based on typical clinical features of ES and its algorithm was optimised through repeated tests on clinical cases prior to validating its performance in a representative online examination. A total of 22 equine practitioners and 31 veterinary students used the DP to diagnose 40 standardised ES and non-ES cases in an online examination. Scores of these 53 respondents were compared to scores of 128 respondents of comparable levels of expertise, and 14 experts, all assessing the same cases without using the DP. Overall, respondents using the DP were significantly more likely (odds ratio (OR) 1.25; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.09-1.43) to diagnose a case correctly compared to respondents not using the DP and felt significantly more confident of their diagnosis (OR 1.53; 95% CI 1.39-1.67). Thus, the DP proved to be a reliable tool to increase clinical diagnostic accuracy and diagnostic confidence. The DP algorithms may be further improved with experiences gained from its application in equine practice and clinicians will be able to optimise their diagnostic accuracy and selection of lesions requiring a biopsy.
Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2018-09-01 PubMed ID: 30268326DOI: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2018.08.010Google Scholar: Lookup The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- Journal Article
- Case Reports
- Clinical Examination
- Clinical Findings
- Clinical Pathology
- Clinical Signs
- Clinical Study
- Diagnosis
- Diagnostic Technique
- Disease Diagnosis
- Disease Management
- Disease Treatment
- Equine Diseases
- Equine Health
- Sarcoids
- Survey Study
- Veterinary Care
- Veterinary Medicine
- Veterinary Practice
- Veterinary Procedure
- Veterinary Research
Summary
This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.
This research focused on increasing the accuracy of the clinical diagnosis of equine sarcoids, particularly for less experienced veterinarians. The researchers developed a diagnostic protocol and tested its efficacy using a controlled online examination. The results showed that the protocol significantly improved diagnostic accuracy and confidence.
Objective of the Study
- This study aimed to develop a diagnostic protocol to increase the accuracy of diagnosing equine sarcoids, particularly to aid less experienced veterinarians. The team also intended to identify any cases that might pose challenges during diagnosis and gauge the diagnostic confidence of those using the protocol.
Methodology
- The diagnostic protocol’s design was based on the typical clinical features of equine sarcoids. Its algorithm was then optimized through repeated trials on actual clinical cases before the online assessment.
- The study participants included 22 equine practitioners and 31 veterinary students who were asked to diagnose 40 standardised equine sarcoids and non-equine sarcoids cases using the diagnostic protocol.
- The performance of these participants was compared against 128 other practitioners of similar expertise and 14 experts who diagnosed the same cases but without the aid of the diagnostic protocol.
Product of the Research
- The diagnostic protocol proved effective in increasing the diagnosis accuracy. Respondents using the diagnostic protocol were more likely to diagnose a case accurately than respondents not using the diagnostic protocol.
- It was also noticed that the use of the diagnostic protocol significantly increased the diagnostic confidence among the study participants.
- The future application of the diagnostic protocol in equine practice may provide the researchers with more insights to further improve the algorithms in order to optimize diagnostic accuracy and identify lesions requiring a biopsy.
Cite This Article
APA
Haspeslagh M, Gerber V, Knottenbelt DC, Schüpbach G, Martens A, Koch C.
(2018).
The clinical diagnosis of equine sarcoids-Part 2: Assessment of case features typical of equine sarcoids and validation of a diagnostic protocol to guide equine clinicians in the diagnosis of equine sarcoids.
Vet J, 240, 14-18.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2018.08.010 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Surgery and Anaesthesiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium.
- Swiss Institute of Equine Medicine, University of Berne and Agroscope, Länggassstrasse 124, Postfach 8466, CH-3001 Berne, Switzerland.
- Equine Medical Solutions, Lomond Court, Stirling FK94TU, UK.
- Swiss Institute for Veterinary Public Health, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Berne, Schwarzenburgstrasse 155, CH-3097 Liebefeld, Switzerland.
- Department of Surgery and Anaesthesiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium.
- Swiss Institute of Equine Medicine, University of Berne and Agroscope, Länggassstrasse 124, Postfach 8466, CH-3001 Berne, Switzerland. Electronic address: christoph.koch@vetsuisse.unibe.ch.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Clinical Protocols
- Horse Diseases / diagnosis
- Horses
- Practice Guidelines as Topic
- Reproducibility of Results
- Sarcoidosis / diagnosis
- Sarcoidosis / veterinary
- Skin Neoplasms / diagnosis
- Skin Neoplasms / veterinary
Citations
This article has been cited 7 times.- Cummings CO, Krucik DDR, Price E. Clinical predictive models in equine medicine: A systematic review. Equine Vet J 2023 Jul;55(4):573-583.
- Gysens L, Vanmechelen B, Haspeslagh M, Maes P, Martens A. New approach for genomic characterisation of equine sarcoid-derived BPV-1/-2 using nanopore-based sequencing. Virol J 2022 Jan 6;19(1):8.
- Cosandey J, Hamza E, Gerber V, Ramseyer A, Leeb T, Jagannathan V, Blaszczyk K, Unger L. Diagnostic and prognostic potential of eight whole blood microRNAs for equine sarcoid disease. PLoS One 2021;16(12):e0261076.
- Unger L, Abril C, Gerber V, Jagannathan V, Koch C, Hamza E. Diagnostic potential of three serum microRNAs as biomarkers for equine sarcoid disease in horses and donkeys. J Vet Intern Med 2021 Jan;35(1):610-619.
- Beermann A, Hamza E, Reinhard S, Koch C, Oberhänsli T, Unger L. Selected microRNAs as biomarkers in sarcoid-affected horses under immunotherapy with a mistletoe extract. J Vet Diagn Invest 2026 Jan;38(1):33-40.
- Vychodilova L, Plasil M, Futas J, Kopecka A, Molinkova D, Wijacki T, Jahn P, Knoll A, Horin P. Genetic susceptibility to sarcoid in Arabian horses: associations with MHC class II and compound MHC class I/KLRA genotypes. Vet Res Commun 2025 May 1;49(3):184.
- Beermann A, Clottu O, Reif M, Biegel U, Unger L, Koch C. A randomized placebo-controlled double-blinded study comparing oral and subcutaneous administration of mistletoe extract for the treatment of equine sarcoid disease. J Vet Intern Med 2024 May-Jun;38(3):1815-1824.
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