Vet Workers And AI

Hello Summarians!

Wow! There is so much hype about AI that it is hard to know what to believe. Just as important as how it functions is how it might affect the people who use it.

That is what one of the studies attempts to clarify.

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QOL For Chronic GI Dogs

Chronic enteropathies (CEs) in dogs are persistent gastrointestinal disorders characterized by clinical signs such as diarrhea, vomiting, weight loss, and abdominal discomfort. These conditions are thought to arise from inappropriate immune responses to dietary or microbial antigens in genetically susceptible animals, although the precise mechanisms remain unclear. Diagnosis depends on excluding other causes of chronic gastrointestinal disease and documenting improvement with dietary therapy, microbiome-targeted interventions, or immunosuppressive treatment. While monitoring clinical severity with tools such as fecal scoring systems and the Canine Chronic Enteropathy Clinical Activity Index is standard practice, these measures do not capture the broader impact of disease burden, treatment complexity, and repeated veterinary care on the quality of life (QoL) of both dogs and their owners. 

To address this gap, the study developed and validated a 33-item health-related QoL questionnaire specifically for dogs with CE and their caregivers. Using established psychometric methods similar to those employed in human inflammatory bowel disease and other veterinary chronic disease tools, the instrument demonstrated excellent internal consistency and strong construct validity. The questionnaire evaluates multiple domains, including clinical signs, physical condition, behavior, and owner-related burden, with findings highlighting that emotional distress and financial strain experienced by owners contributed more substantially to overall QoL scores than clinical symptoms alone. Reliability analyses suggested high reproducibility, although limited sample size and lack of external validation require cautious interpretation. 

Younger dogs were perceived to have slightly poorer QoL, possibly reflecting owner expectations or early disease instability, though this association was weak. Study limitations included reliance on owner-reported diagnoses, potential recall bias, incomplete psychometric testing, and the absence of responsiveness data to measure change over time. Despite these constraints, the CCEQoL questionnaire represents the first validated, disease-specific QoL assessment for canine CE. It offers a more holistic framework for clinical monitoring, supports shared decision-making, and may serve as a standardized outcome measure in research, pending further external validation and longitudinal evaluation. 

Claire Verollet, Florian Oggiano, Capucine Vitu, Amandine Drut, Odile Sénécat, Cyril Duperrier-Simond, Rodolfo Oliveira Leal, Suzy Valentin, Elodie Darnis, Moez Rhimi, Tristan Méric, Juan Hernandez, Development of a health-related questionnaire for quality-of-life assessment in dogs with chronic enteropathy, Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Volume 40, Issue 1, January-February 2026, aalaf089, https://doi.org/10.1093/jvimsj/aalaf089 

Bottom line — Can help with decision making.

Vet Staff And AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly recognized as a technology with significant potential to transform veterinary medicine, particularly in diagnostic imaging. Although interest in AI has grown rapidly in human healthcare, veterinary-specific research on clinicians’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices has been limited. This study surveyed a broad range of veterinary professionals and students to evaluate their understanding of AI, perceptions of its future impact, and current patterns of use. Results showed that most respondents reported minimal formal training and only a basic understanding of AI, yet attitudes were generally optimistic. A large majority believed AI would alter veterinary medicine—often within the next decade—and more than half expected a positive impact on veterinary radiology. Concerns about complete job replacement were uncommon, with most respondents anticipating that AI would function as an assistive tool that improves image analysis, workflow efficiency, and report accuracy rather than replacing radiologists entirely. 

Education emerged as a central theme. While opinions were mixed on incorporating AI into veterinary school curricula, strong support existed for continuing education and residency-level training focused on practical AI literacy, such as interpreting validation studies and recognizing system limitations. Survey findings also indicated that AI is already present in some clinical environments, especially in radiography and laboratory diagnostics, though many respondents were uncertain whether their workplaces used AI at all, highlighting communication and awareness gaps. Trust in AI adoption was closely tied to peer-reviewed research, clinical trials, and independent validation. 

The study’s strengths included a large and diverse respondent group, but limitations such as convenience sampling, self-reported data, and a cross-sectional design restrict generalizability and causal interpretation. Overall, veterinary professionals demonstrated limited knowledge yet favorable attitudes toward AI, emphasizing the importance of evidence-based validation, targeted education, and transparent implementation strategies to support responsible integration of AI into veterinary practice. 

Ofer, O., Pearl, D. L., Singh, A., & Appleby, R. (2026). Veterinary workers report low knowledge of artificial intelligence but positive attitudes toward its adoption in diagnostic imaging and the workplace as a whole. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.25.08.0545 

Bottom line — Education is a central theme.

New Diet For Atopy?

Otitis externa (OE) is a frequent reason for veterinary visits and is commonly secondary to underlying conditions, particularly canine atopic dermatitis (cAD). Dogs with cAD have a markedly increased risk of developing OE, and approximately half experience recurrent or chronic ear disease despite treatment of their skin condition. Because repeated inflammation can lead to permanent structural changes within the ear canal, long-term management strategies that reduce relapse frequency and medication dependence are clinically valuable. This randomized, controlled, and blinded study evaluated whether a therapeutic diet previously shown to improve signs of cAD could also reduce recurrence of erythroceruminous OE in atopic dogs over a six-month period. Dogs receiving the test diet experienced fewer OE episodes and a longer time to first relapse compared with control-fed dogs, a difference considered clinically meaningful for chronic disease management. The diet was also associated with a sustained reduction in overall medication burden for both OE and cAD, supporting the concept that nutritional modulation can complement pharmacologic therapy and potentially reduce long-term adverse effects and costs. Clinical improvements in pruritus and dermatitis severity were maintained in the test group, whereas rebound worsening occurred in controls after initial improvement. Although both groups showed some recurrence of otitis signs over time, these changes were not statistically significant in dogs fed the therapeutic diet. Study limitations included variable initial treatments, incomplete enrollment, and practical constraints of a multicenter field trial, but statistical analysis supported the validity of the findings. Overall, the results indicate that targeted dietary intervention can meaningfully reduce OE recurrence and medication reliance in dogs with cAD, highlighting nutrition as a feasible long-term adjunctive strategy for managing the chronic and relapsing manifestations of allergic skin and ear disease. 

 Watson, A., Laxalde, J., Martini, F., Fischer, N., Maina, E., and Favrot, C. (2026), Incidence Rate of Otitis Externa Episodes in Atopic Dogs Is Reduced by a Therapeutic Diet in a 6-Month Randomised, Blinded, Controlled, Clinical Trial. Vet Dermatol, 37: 89-102. https://doi.org/10.1111/vde.70017 

Bottom line — Could be useful for atopic dogs.

Just putting things in perspective …