scholarly journals Storage of prescription veterinary medicines on UK dairy farms: a cross-sectional study

2018 ◽  
Vol 184 (5) ◽  
pp. 153-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gwen M Rees ◽  
David C Barrett ◽  
Henry Buller ◽  
Harriet L Mills ◽  
Kristen K Reyher

Prescription veterinary medicine (PVM) use in the UK is an area of increasing focus for the veterinary profession. While many studies measure antimicrobial use on dairy farms, none report the quantity of antimicrobials stored on farms, nor the ways in which they are stored. The majority of PVM treatments occur in the absence of the prescribing veterinarian, yet there is an identifiable knowledge gap surrounding PVM use and farmer decision making. To provide an evidence base for future work on PVM use, data were collected from 27 dairy farms in England and Wales in Autumn 2016. The number of different PVMs stored on farms ranged from 9 to 35, with antimicrobials being the most common therapeutic group stored. Injectable antimicrobials comprised the greatest weight of active ingredient found, while intramammary antimicrobials were the most frequent unit of medicine stored. Antimicrobials classed by the European Medicines Agency as critically important to human health were present on most farms, and the presence of expired medicines and medicines not licensed for use in dairy cattle was also common. The medicine resources available to farmers are likely to influence their treatment decisions; therefore, evidence of the PVM stored on farms can help inform understanding of medicine use.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gwen M. Rees ◽  
David C. Barrett ◽  
Henry J. Buller ◽  
Harriet L. Mills ◽  
Kristen K. Reyher

AbstractPrescription veterinary medicine (PVM) use in the United Kingdom is an area of increasing focus for the veterinary profession. While many studies measure antimicrobial use on dairy farms, none report the quantity of antimicrobials stored on farms, nor the ways in which they are stored. The majority of PVM treatments occur in the absence of the prescribing veterinarian, yet there is an identifiable knowledge gap surrounding PVM use and farmer decision making. To provide an evidence base for future work on PVM use, data were collected from 27 dairy farms in England and Wales in Autumn 2016. The number of different PVM stored on farms ranged from 9-35, with antimicrobials being the most common therapeutic group stored. Injectable antimicrobials comprised the greatest weight of active ingredient found while intramammary antimicrobials were the most frequent unit of medicine stored. Antimicrobials classed by the European Medicines Agency as critically-important to human health were present on most farms, and the presence of expired medicines and medicines not licensed for use in dairy cattle was also common. The medicine resources available to farmers are likely to influence their treatment decisions, therefore evidence of the PVM stored on farms can help inform understanding of medicine use.


BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. e027625 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek J Ward ◽  
Lucy Doos ◽  
Andrew Stevens

ObjectivesTo investigate the trend in the launch price of new drugs for five common health conditions.DesignCross-sectional study using data on new drugs launched in the UK between 1981 and 2015 for hypertension, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, schizophrenia and colorectal cancer.Data and sourcesAll drugs marketed in the UK between 1981 and 2015 (inclusive), and licensed specifically for the treatment of one of the five chosen conditions were included in the study. Newly launched medicines and their launch prices were identified by hand-searching all editions of the British National Formulary in addition to searching the websites of relevant regulatory agencies (European Medicines Agency and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency). The launch price in UK pounds for a 28-day supply of each medicine at a typical or usual maintenance dose was adjusted for the effects of general inflation using the gross domestic product deflator series.Results104 drugs were included in our study with a mean inflation-adjusted 28-day launch price of £288 (SD £678). The launch price of new drugs varied significantly across the five conditions, with drugs for hypertension having the lowest mean price (£27) and drugs for colorectal cancer having the highest mean price (£1590) (p<0.001). There were large increases in launch prices across the study period, but the magnitude and pattern was markedly different between therapeutic areas. Biological drugs represented 13.5% of all included drugs and had a significantly higher launch price than non- biological drugs (£1233 vs £141, p<0.001). 22.1% of included drugs were first-of-kind and had a significantly higher launch price than follow-on drugs (£768 vs £151) (p<0.0001).ConclusionDrugs prices continue to increase across different therapeutic areas. This has some association with novelty, but, it is not clear if this increase in price is associated with medical benefits.


2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 84
Author(s):  
Katie Waine ◽  
Rachel S. Dean ◽  
Chris Hudson ◽  
Jonathan Huxley ◽  
Marnie L. Brennan

Clinical audit is a quality improvement tool used to assess and improve the clinical services provided to patients. This is the first study to investigate the extent to which clinical audit is understood and utilised in farm animal veterinary practice. A cross-sectional study to collect experiences and attitudes of farm animal veterinary surgeons in the UK towards clinical audit was conducted using an online nationwide survey. The survey revealed that whilst just under three-quarters (n = 237/325; 73%) of responding veterinary surgeons had heard of clinical audit, nearly 50% (n = 148/301) had never been involved in a clinical audit of any species. The participants’ knowledge of what a clinical audit was varied substantially, with many respondents reporting not receiving training on clinical audit at the undergraduate or postgraduate level. Respondents that had participated in a clinical audit suggested that protected time away from clinical work was required for the process to be completed successfully. This novel study suggests that clinical audit is undertaken to some extent in farm animal practice and that practitioner perception is that it can bring benefits, but was felt that more resources and support were needed for it to be implemented successfully on a wider scale.


BMJ Open ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (8) ◽  
pp. e010551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clare Quigley ◽  
Cristina Taut ◽  
Tamara Zigman ◽  
Louise Gallagher ◽  
Harry Campbell ◽  
...  

BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. e019952 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harriet Ruth Feldman ◽  
Nicholas J DeVito ◽  
Jonathan Mendel ◽  
David E Carroll ◽  
Ben Goldacre

ObjectiveWe set out to document how NHS trusts in the UK record and share disclosures of conflict of interest by their employees.DesignCross-sectional study of responses to a Freedom of Information Act request for Gifts and Hospitality Registers.SettingNHS Trusts (secondary/tertiary care organisations) in England.Participants236 Trusts were contacted, of which 217 responded.Main outcome measuresWe assessed all disclosures for completeness and openness, scoring them for achieving each of five measures of transparency.Results185 Trusts (78%) provided a register. 71 Trusts did not respond within the 28 day time limit required by the FoIA. Most COI registers were incomplete by design, and did not contain the information necessary to assess conflicts of interest. 126/185 (68%) did not record the names of recipients. 47/185 (25%) did not record the cash value of the gift or hospitality. Only 31/185 registers (16%) contained the names of recipients, the names of donors, and the cash amounts received. 18/185 (10%) contained none of: recipient name, donor name, and cash amount. Only 15 Trusts had their disclosure register publicly available online (6%). We generated a transparency index assessing whether each Trust met the following criteria: responded on time; provided a register; had a register with fields identifying donor, recipient, and cash amount; provided a register in a format that allowed further analysis; and had their register publicly available online. Mean attainment was 1.9/5; no NHS trust met all five criteria.ConclusionOverall, recording of employees’ conflicts of interest by NHS trusts is poor. None of the NHS Trusts in England met all transparency criteria. 19 did not respond to our FoIA requests, 51 did not provide a Gifts and Hospitality Register and only 31 of the registers provided contained enough information to assess employees’ conflicts of interest. Despite obligations on healthcare professionals to disclose conflicts of interest, and on organisations to record these, the current system for logging and tracking such disclosures is not functioning adequately. We propose a simple national template for reporting conflicts of interest, modelled on the US ‘Sunshine Act’.


2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (11) ◽  
pp. 1271-1276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brett G. Mitchell ◽  
Philip L. Russo ◽  
Jonathan A. Otter ◽  
Martin A. Kiernan ◽  
Landon Aveling

OBJECTIVETo examine tweeting activity, networks, and common topics mentioned on Twitter at 4 international infection control and infectious disease conferences.DESIGNA cross-sectional study.METHODSAn independent company was commissioned to undertake a Twitter ‘trawl’ each month between July 1, 2016, and November 31, 2016. The trawl identified any tweets that contained the official hashtags of the conferences for (1) the UK Infection Prevention Society, (2) IDWeek 2016, (3) the Federation of Infectious Society/Hospital Infection Society, and (4) the Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control. Topics from each tweet were identified, and an examination of the frequency and timing of tweets was performed. A social network analysis was performed to illustrate connections between users. A multivariate binary logistic regression model was developed to explore the predictors of ‘retweets.’RESULTSIn total, 23,718 tweets were identified as using 1 of the 2 hashtags of interest. The results demonstrated that the most tweets were posted during the conferences. Network analysis demonstrated a diversity of twitter networks. A link to a web address was a significant predictor of whether a tweet would be retweeted (odds ratio [OR], 2.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.9–2.1). Other significant factors predicting a retweet included tweeting on topics such as Clostridium difficile (OR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.7–2.4) and the media (OR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.6–2.0). Tweets that contained a picture were significantly less likely to be retweeted (OR, 0.06; 95% CI, 0.05–0.08).CONCLUSIONTwitter is a useful tool for information sharing and networking at infection control conferences.Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38:1271–1276


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 570-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoubida Dendani-Chadi ◽  
Khelaf Saidani ◽  
Loubna Dib ◽  
Fayçal Zeroual ◽  
Faouzi Sammar ◽  
...  

Background and Aim: This cross-sectional study aimed to analyze the associations between different types of housing, management, and facilities on the prevalence of lame, causing lesions in smallholder dairy farms in Algeria. Materials and Methods: The on-site investigation took place between December 2012 and May 2015. All cows were locomotion scored on a four-point scale, and foot lesions causing lame were diagnosed and recorded. Factors related to the farm and the cows' conditions were also assessed. The association between the possible risk factors and lame lesions was assessed using univariate analysis. Results: Of the 349 cows evaluated, 13% were lame (lameness score ≥2), with higher lameness values recorded for the hind feet than for the forefeet. Cows without lameness were classified as healthy. The two most frequent lesion diagnoses observed in lame cows were interdigital dermatitis/heel horn erosion (ID/HE; 39%) and interdigital phlegmon (IP; 35%), followed by traumatic lesions (T; 11%), digital dermatitis (DD; 8.7%), and laminitis-related diseases (L; 6.5%). The risk of being lame was increased in large herds with cows of the Holstein breed, and those in the third parity and above. Tie housing, concrete floor, concentrate feeding, zero-grazing, and the use of foot trimming occasionally were associated with increased risk for the presence of lame lesions. The region and footbathing frequency had no association with the prevalence of lame lesions (p≥0.05). Conclusion: These results have important implications; they indicate that several aspects of housing, management, and facility design are common protective factors for the prevalence of lame lesions. These factors should be maintained correctly to not only reduce the number of lame cows in these herds but also decrease the direct and indirect costs associated with cases of lameness.


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