Target trial emulation: Do antimicrobials or gastrointestinal nutraceuticals prescribed at first presentation for acute diarrhoea cause a better clinical outcome in dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK?

ABSTRACT: Target trial emulation applies design principles from randomised controlled trials to the analysis of observational data for causal inference and is increasingly used within human epidemiology. Veterinary electronic clinical records represent a potentially valuable source of information to estimate real-world causal effects for companion animal species. This study employed the target trial framework to evaluate the usefulness on veterinary observational data. Acute diarrhoea in dogs was used as a clinical exemplar. Inclusion required dogs aged ≥ 3 months and < 10 years, presenting for veterinary primary care with acute diarrhoea during 2019. Treatment strategies were: 1. antimicrobial prescription compared to no antimicrobial prescription and 2. gastrointestinal nutraceutical prescription

SUBMITTER: Pegram C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10550114 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature