The standards of reporting trials in pets (PetSORT): Explanation and elaboration

Jan M Sargeant; Audrey Ruple; Laura E Selmic; Annette M O'Connor

doi:10.3389/fvets.2023.1137781

The standards of reporting trials in pets (PetSORT): Explanation and elaboration

Front Vet Sci. 2023 Mar 30:10:1137781. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1137781. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Jan M Sargeant¹, Audrey Ruple², Laura E Selmic³, Annette M O'Connor⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
² Department of Population Health Sciences, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, United States.
³ Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States.
⁴ Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States.

Abstract

Well-designed randomized controlled trials (RCTs) provide the best evidence of the primary research designs for evaluating the effectiveness of interventions. However, if RCTs are incompletely reported, the methodological rigor with which they were conducted cannot be reliably evaluated and it may not be possible to replicate the intervention. Missing information also may limit the reader's ability to evaluate the external validity of a trial. Reporting guidelines are available for clinical trials in human healthcare (CONSORT), livestock populations (REFLECT), and preclinical experimental research involving animals (ARRIVE 2.0). The PetSORT guidelines complement these existing guidelines, providing recommendations for reporting controlled trials in pet dogs and cats. The rationale and scientific background are explained for each of the 25 items in the PetSORT reporting recommendations checklist, with examples from well-reported trials.

Keywords: animal health; animal reporting guidelines; companion animals; randomized trials; small animal clinical trials.