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. 2022 May 11;9(5):231.
doi: 10.3390/vetsci9050231.

Risk Factors for Severe and Fatal Heat-Related Illness in UK Dogs-A VetCompass Study

Emily J Hall  1 , Anne J Carter  2 , Guaduneth Chico  2 , Jude Bradbury  3 , Louise K Gentle  2 , Dominic Barfield  1 , Dan G O'Neill  4
Affiliations

Risk Factors for Severe and Fatal Heat-Related Illness in UK Dogs-A VetCompass Study

Emily J Hall et al. Vet Sci. .

Abstract

Heat-related illness (HRI) is predicted to increase in dogs due to rising global temperatures. This study evaluated retrospective VetCompass veterinary clinical records to explore geographical variability and ambient conditions associated with HRI events in UK dogs, and report the intrinsic (canine) and extrinsic (location, trigger, ambient weather) risk factors for severe disease and fatal outcome in dogs affected by HRI. Dogs living in London had the greatest odds for developing HRI compared with dogs living in the North West (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.31-2.74). The median ambient temperature on days of HRI events was 16.9 °C. For dogs with HRI, age, bodyweight and trigger were risk factors associated with severe disease. Age, skull shape and clinical grade of HRI presentation were associated with a fatal outcome. Whilst the majority of HRI events overall were triggered by exertion, the risk of severe disease was greater in situations where dogs could not escape the heat source (vehicular confinement), and the risk of death in HRI cases was greater for those dogs with reduced capacity to thermoregulate (older and brachycephalic dogs). These results highlight the need for better owner awareness of the factors that increase the risk of severe and fatal HRI, as a first stage in protecting canine welfare in the face of rising global temperatures.

Keywords: VetCompass; brachycephalic; canine heatstroke; dogs die in hot cars; dogs die on hot walks; exertional heat-related illness; heat-related illness; vehicular heat-related illness.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study, in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of the data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Incidence risk (%) of heat-related illness (HRI) in dogs under primary veterinary care during 2016 by UK postcode region.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distribution of heat-related illness (HRI) fatalities in dogs under primary veterinary care during 2016 by UK postcode region for 2016. The HRI event fatality rate for each region is overlaid.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Median (± interquartile range and outlier values indicated by circles) of maximum daily wet bulb globe temperature (°C) for heat-related illness events in UK dogs between 2016 and 2018 by event trigger type.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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