Every day, several times a day, veterinary surgeons have to make clinical decisions. Which complementary diagnostic examination to perform? What is the best therapeutic plan? Which drug to administer? VETERINÁRIA ATUAL has tried to understand how these decisions are made when there is little or no scientific evidence available. Clinical experts and university professors recognise that veterinary medicine still has some way to go in providing evidence to support medical decision-making, but there are already projects in the field trying to make up for the shortcomings felt in clinical practice.
Language: Portuguese
November 17 and 18, 2023 | i3S
The practice of evidence-based veterinary medicine is one of the most important skills for a veterinarian. However, there is a lack of training in Portugal to make veterinarians competent in collecting, interpreting and assessing the quality of scientific information. In addition, non-conventional therapies (NCTs) - such as acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, homeopathy and osteopathy - have become increasingly popular in veterinary practice, despite the scarcity of evidence on their effectiveness. This 12-hour intensive course is aimed primarily at veterinary professionals or postgraduate students who deal with clinical or basic research, or at anyone who wants to improve their skills in researching, evaluating, applying and communicating scientific evidence in veterinary medicine.
Language: Portuguese
RESEARCH QUESTION - Is the growing interest in non-conventional therapies (NCTs) in veterinary medicine accompanied by relevant research?
METHOD - We applied text mining algorithms to detect 17 terms related to NCTs, including acupuncture, chiropractic, essential oils, homeopathy, and osteopathy.
SAMPLE - All articles listed in PubMed up to 2020, MeSH term 'veterinary' (N= 377 556)
RESULTS - (1) Most of the veterinary literature on NCTs in the last decade refers to the use of medicinal plants, herbal extracts, and essential oils. (2) Studies mentioning acupuncture, electroacupuncture, chiropractic, and homeopathy are relatively scarce. CONCLUSION - There does not seem to be enough evidence to support the use of most non-conventional therapies in veterinary medicine.
Foundational work leading to the EVIEDVET project
Critical Analysis of Tradicional Chinese Veterinary Medicine
An Epistemological Critique of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Acupuncture
Debate between veterinary ethicist and practitioner of alternative therapies
EVIEDVET is funded by FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., Portugal (project number: PTDC/CED-EDG/0187/2020)