Evidence-Based Advances in Reptile Medicine

Mark A Mitchell; Sean M Perry

doi:10.1016/j.cvex.2017.05.002

Evidence-Based Advances in Reptile Medicine

Vet Clin North Am Exot Anim Pract. 2017 Sep;20(3):857-870. doi: 10.1016/j.cvex.2017.05.002.

Authors

Mark A Mitchell¹, Sean M Perry²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Louisiana State University, School of Veterinary Medicine, Skip Bertman Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA. Electronic address: mmitchell@lsu.edu.
² Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Louisiana State University, School of Veterinary Medicine, Skip Bertman Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.

PMID: 28781037
DOI: 10.1016/j.cvex.2017.05.002

Abstract

Evidence-based medicine allows veterinarians to practice high-quality medicine, because the basis for all decision making is quantitative, objective, and reproducible. Case reports and case series are limited in their scope and application. Cross-sectional studies, likewise, cannot provide answers to specific variable testing with a temporal application. It is essential for the reptile specialty to expand into case-control studies, cohort studies, and experimental/intervention studies. Unfortunately, much of the reptile literature remains limited to descriptive studies. This article reviews current evidence-based topics in reptile medicine and shares how everyone practicing in the field can contribute to improving this specialty.

Keywords: Diagnosis; Disease; Evidence-based; Pathogen; Reptile; Statistics; Therapeutic.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Evidence-Based Medicine / methods
Evidence-Based Medicine / standards*
Reptiles*
Veterinary Medicine / standards*