Hodgson said complication rates among the castration cases evaluated were very respectable. | Photo: Courtesy Dr. Caitlin Freeny

Knowing that information, equine veterinarians can compare their own castration track records to a new “gold standard” to see how their results fare, said said Claire Hodgson, BVetMed, CertAVP(EM), MRCVS, a clinical practice veterinarian working in association with the University of Liverpool School of Veterinary Science, in Neston, U.K.

“One of the main purposes of this study was to provide a benchmark for clinicians against which they can audit their individual and practice performances,” she said. “Clinical audit is now routine in human medicine and is becoming commonplace in veterinary medicine as a way to constantly compare performance against a gold standard and strive for the highest performance possible. Hopefully, by providing the baseline standards in general practice, we have made this task easier for clinicians in general practice.”

Hodgson and Gina Pinchbeck, BVSc, CertES, PhD, Dipl. ECVPH, MRCVS, of the University of Liverpool Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, prospectively investigated nearly 500 equine castrations performed by more than 50 veterinarians. The pair collected complication data on the day of each castration and again 30 days post-operatively