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Remote consulting: Development of a checklist for the detection of degenerative joint disease-associated pain in cats
spotlight topic:
Using structured data collection to augment the consultation
Development of a checklist for the detection of degenerative joint disease-associated pain in cats
Published 19 August 2020
Enomoto, M., Lascelles, B.D.X. and Gruen, M.E. (2020) Development of a checklist for the detection of degenerative joint disease-associated pain in cats. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, p.1098612X20907424. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098612X20907424
This paper was reviewed in the March 2020 issue of inFOCUS
The aim of this study was to develop a checklist, with adequate accuracy that could be completed by owners and used to identify cats likely to have pain associated with degenerative joint diseases (DJD). Based on the data it was found that the six questions would identify 99% of cats with clinically confirmed DJD and had a specificity of 100%.
It was acknowledged that the proposed checklist has limitations, including that two of the six questions are about stairs which will not be applicable to all owners’ home setting, and the fact that the checklist has not been evaluated in cats with other diseases.
The review concluded that the proposed Feline Musculoskeletal Pain Screening Checklist offers an easy to use tool that may help veterinary surgeons screen cats for potential signs of DJD and engage owners in the monitoring of DJD associated pain behaviours in their cats.