RESUMO
Epilepsy in dogs is a common chronic and serious disorder and may have an impact on the quality of life of the owners as well as the dogs themselves. The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the QoL score of dogs suffering from idiopathic epilepsy and their owners and if possible, investigate whether a breed specific difference exists. Owners, either Dutch or Belgium, were asked to participate in a web based SurveyMonkey questionnaire. A total of 402 questionnaires representing 402 dogs with epilepsy were suitable for further analysis. Of the 402 dogs, 253 were males and 149 were females. Ninety-nine different breeds were represented. Fourteen breeds (177 dogs in total) were used to calculate breed specific scores; Australian Shepherd (n = 8), Beagle (n = 7), Belgian Tervuren dog (n = 9), Belgian Groenendaeler dog (n = 8), Border Collie (n = 38), Chihuahua (n = 9), Dachshund (n = 13), Drentsche Patrijshond (a Dutch partridge dog) (n = 14), French Bulldog (n = 12), Golden Retriever (n = 17), Labrador Retriever (n = 18), and Rottweiler (n = 12). For the Border Collie, there was a statistically significant correlation between "epilepsy related death," the severity of the seizures (p < 0.001) and cluster seizures (p < 0.001). The quality of life of the Border Collie was scored lower compared to all other dogs (p = 0.02). There were three breeds that had a minimal decrease in the overall quality of life score compared to all other dogs: the Chihuahua (p = 0.03), Dachshund (p = 0.001), and Golden retriever (p = 0.01). The score for "caring for my epileptic dog decreases my own QoL" was high for the Border Collie, Boxer, French Bulldog, and Rottweiler, but was only found to be statistically significantly higher in the Border Collie (p = 0.01). Scores for the Golden Retriever (p = 0.04) and Labrador (p = 0.006) were lower. In conclusion, this study reports breed specific quality of life scores of dogs with epilepsy and their owners, and underlines that breed by itself, is also an important factor when managing epilepsy in dogs.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: This study aims to investigate the perspectives of veterinarians in first-line practice on confidence and satisfaction regarding several important aspects of the description, diagnosis and treatment of canine patients with epilepsy. METHODS: A web-based questionnaire was used, focussing on general aspects of canine epilepsy, diagnostic tests, treatment and communication with owners. RESULTS: One hundred and two questionnaires were evaluated. No less than 73 per cent of veterinarians had performed euthanasia on one or more patients with epilepsy as the main reason. First-line veterinarians scored confidence on general aspects of epilepsy as 6 or 7 out of 10. Confidence regarding communication with owners was scored 7 or 8 out of 10. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides insight into perspectives of Dutch veterinarians in first-line practice regarding canine epilepsy. Several results may provide reasons to adjust (pregraduate or postgraduate) education of veterinarians with regard to management of canine patients with epilepsy. Several factors (such as the importance of diagnostic imaging) may help specialists in the field communicate better with referring veterinarians so that first-line practitioners become better equipped in managing patients with epilepsy. These steps may then positively influence treatment results as well as care-giver burden for the first-line practitioner.