Results of a survey of small-animal practitioners on the perceived clinical efficacy and safety of an oral nutraceutical

A mail survey of 3080 practitioners from two sampling frames was used to de termine the perceived clinical efficacy and safety of an oral nutraceutical for the treatment of degenerative joint disease (DJD) in small animals. Ov erall response rate was 82%, of which 64% reported that they were recommend ing the oral nutraceutical to their clients. There was a high variability r eported between the severity of DJD and response to treatment. Sixty-eight percent of practitioners reported lame dogs older than five years to be the most responsive to treatment. Most practitioners (83%) believed response t o treatment with the studied product occurred within four weeks. Practition ers using the product rated the clinical efficacy of the product to be eith er 'good' or 'excellent' in improving mobility, alleviating pain and improv ing attitude in the majority of the treated animals. No practitioner report ed a worsening of pain, mobility or attitude. Self-reported adverse effects were 2% (the most common was gastrointestinal upset). The results of this survey indicated that perceived clinical efficacy of the studied nutraceuti cal in the treatment of DJD was regarded to be 'good' or 'excellent' by mos t of the practitioners who use this product and was considered to be safe w ith minimal side effects. This provides additional information on the produ ct for use in planning future clinical trials. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B. V. All rights reserved.