Vetmetrica is the brand name for NewMetrica’s portfolio of structured questionnaire instruments to measure HRQL in animals

A valid, reliable and responsive, web – based, generic HRQL instrument has been developed for use with dogs. This takes the form of a structured questionnaire developed by a team of internationally respected academics and veterinary clinicians, based on 15 years of research and clinical experience in animal pain and welfare management at the University of Glasgow.

The questionnaire is completed quickly and easily online by the owner at home and the resulting individual HRQL profile across four domains of Q0L (energy, happiness, comfort and calmness) can be compared with that of age matched healthy dogs.

Applications include routine wellness monitoring of individual dogs, monitoring of disease progression and efficacy of treatment and decision making at end of life, as well as providing a primary outcome measure in regulatory drug trials (21 CFR 11 compliant) and post-marketing trials.

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A web-based generic HRQL instrument for cats is currently available.

Advances in veterinary medicine have made a considerable impact on cat health and longevity, and the prevalence of chronic disease has increased accordingly, causing behavioural changes indicative of a significant reduction in welfare and health related quality of life (HRQL).

Several disease specific instruments are available (cardiac disease, diabetes, cancer, chronic kidney disease (CKD), osteoarthritis). However, these are clinical metrology instruments, focusing exclusively on functional changes imposed by disease, whereas the measurement of HRQL adopts a more holistic approach assessing both emotional and physical well-being.

Disease specific instruments are also limited when there are one or more comorbid conditions presenting in the cat – as is often the case, and here we require the use of the generic instrument to capture the multidimensional impact of disease on quality of life.

Additionally, recognising chronic pain and disease and providing adequate analgesia and treatment is paramount in the management of health in animals. The effects of long-term non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on older animals can have a detrimental effect on renal, hepatic, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal systems. Furthermore, the lack of suitable drugs licensed for long-term use in cats may be a result of a lack of good outcome measures.

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A paper-based instrument to measure HRQL in farmed pigs was developed in 2011. Once converted to a digital platform its applications will include measurement of pig welfare at individual and herd level, training of stock workers and for use as an outcome measure in clinical trials.

All NewMetrica instruments are developed using well established psychometric methodology, recognised as the gold standard for design of instruments to measure human pain and health-related quality of life.

Dieser Prozess umfasst die Prüfung auf Validität, Reliabilität und Sensitivität, wenn Instrumente zur Messung klinischer Veränderungen im Zeitverlauf eingesetzt werden. Die Änderung der Darstellung des Instruments durch Übersetzung in eine andere Sprache erfordert eine zusätzliche sprachliche und kulturelle Validierung, die für die Instrumente zur Erfassung akuter Schmerzen in verschiedenen Sprachen durchgeführt wurde.

Die Entwicklung Instrumente ist ein iterativer Prozess, in dem Instrumente verfeinert und mit neuen Populationen in neuen Kontexten und für neue Zwecke erneut getestet werden. Dies ist der Schwerpunkt unserer laufenden Forschung

Ein etabliertes, von Fachkollegen begutachtetes Publikationsverzeichnis, das die wissenschaftliche Validität, Zuverlässigkeit und Sensitivität aller NewMetrica-Instrumente hervorhebt, ist zugänglich. Hier.

The use of VetMetrica HRQL instruments raises the profile of preventative veterinary medicine within a health and wellness model of veterinary care and improves disease detection, including chronic disease which is often unrecognised and unreported.

It also adds another dimension to the monitoring of treatment, supplementing subjective owner report with measurement, the outcomes of which can be treated statistically to provide an evidence base. End of life decisions are made easier when deterioration in quality of life is quantified.

Regular use gives the owner confidence in the dog’s health status in between routine vet visits and streamlines the consultation process, enhancing communication with clients and establishing stronger bonds with clients as partners in their animals’ healthcare

EDC is used increasingly in human clinical trials and regulators strongly encourage clinical trial sponsors to adopt electronic means of collecting patient and clinician reported outcomes over traditional paper questionnaires.

Although new in veterinary trials, FDA CVM are adopting a similar approach.

The advantages of electronic data capture (EDC) include less missing data, better participant compliance and the ability to manage study data and subjects in real-time. This can offer real advantage by reducing drug development times and increasing trial productivity.

Although the items used to generate the HRQL profile are fixed, the web platform itself can be used to customise trials by the addition of trial specific questions, such as the occurrence of side effects, for example.

Specialist support in Pain and Health Related Quality of Life (HRQL) measurement in Dogs and Cats for Contract Research Organisations.

• Natural animal models of disease.

• Combining HRQL measurement with your biomarker testing.

• Providing your clients with evidence of HRQL improvement to help with their marketing and launch.

• Specialist guidance on optimising trial design for the measurement and interpretation of pain and HRQL scores.

• A single HRQL assessment tool for all conditions and illnesses

• Adding HRQL and pain assessment to your Toxicology services.

• Measure and improve the welfare of Dogs and Cats being used in biomedical research.

• World leader of Pain and Health-Related Quality of Life assessment in Dogs and Cats.

• Trusted by some of the world’s largest Animal Medicines companies.

• FDA 21CFR compliant. CVM confirmed scoring algorithms in 2019.

• The only validated instrument to measure HRQL in sick dogs across all conditions.

• Measures the impact of chronic pain.

• Highly responsive to clinical change.

• Lowest placebo response available.

• Electronic Data Capture, reporting and API data links.

• Allows comparison of results with a healthy population.