Department of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center & Harvard Medical School, Boston, MassachusettsUSA.
BS Candidate, Department of Chemistry, Georgetown University, Washington, DCUSA.
Prehosp Disaster Med. 2024 Feb;39(1):59-64. doi: 10.1017/S1049023X24000074. Epub 2024 Feb 15.
BACKGROUND & AIMS: Deployment of law enforcement operational canines (OpK9s) risks injuries to the animals. This study's aim was to assess the current status of states' OpK9 (veterinary Emergency Medical Services [VEMS]) laws and care protocols within the United States.
Cross-sectional standardized review of state laws/regulations and OpK9 VEMS treatment protocols was undertaken. For each state and for the District of Columbia (DC), the presence of OpK9 legislation and/or care protocols was ascertained. Information was obtained through governmental records and from stakeholders (eg, state EMS medical directors and state veterinary boards).The main endpoints were proportions of states with OpK9 laws and/or treatment protocols. Proportions are reported with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Fisher's exact test ( <.05) assessed whether presence of an OpK9 law in a given jurisdiction was associated with presence of an OpK9 care protocol, and whether there was geographic variation (based on United States Census Bureau regions) in presence of OpK9 laws or protocols.
Of 51 jurisdictions, 20 (39.2%) had OpK9 legislation and 23 (45.1%) had state-wide protocols for EMS treatment of OpK9s. There was no association ( = .991) between presence of legislation and presence of protocols. There was no association ( = .144) between presence of legislation and region: Northeast 66.7% (95% CI, 29.9-92.5%), Midwest 50.0% (95% CI, 21.1-78.9%), South 29.4% (95% CI, 10.3-56.0%), and West 23.1% (95% CI, 5.0-53.8%). There was significant ( = .001) regional variation in presence of state-wide OpK9 treatment protocols: Northeast 100.0% (95% CI, 66.4-100.0%), Midwest 16.7% (95% CI, 2.1-48.4%), South 47.1% (95% CI, 23.0-72.2%), and West 30.8% (95% CI, 9.1-61.4%).
There is substantial disparity with regard to presence of OpK9 legal and/or clinical guidance. National collaborative guidelines development is advisable to optimize and standardize care of OpK9s. Additional attention should be paid to educational and training programs to best utilize the limited available training budgets.
部署执法行动犬（OpK9）存在动物受伤的风险。本研究旨在评估美国各州的 OpK9（兽医紧急医疗服务 [VEMS]）法律和护理协议的现状。
对州法律/法规和 OpK9 VEMS 治疗方案进行了横断面标准化审查。对于每个州和哥伦比亚特区（DC），确定了 OpK9 立法和/或护理协议的存在情况。通过政府记录和利益相关者（例如，州紧急医疗服务医学主任和州兽医委员会）获取信息。主要终点是具有 OpK9 法律和/或治疗方案的州的比例。报告的比例带有 95%置信区间（CI）。Fisher 精确检验（<0.05）评估了在特定管辖区中是否存在 OpK9 法律与是否存在 OpK9 护理协议之间的关联，以及 OpK9 法律或协议的存在是否存在地域差异（基于美国人口普查局的地区）。
在 51 个管辖区中，有 20 个（39.2%）制定了 OpK9 立法，有 23 个（45.1%）制定了全州范围内的 OpK9 紧急医疗服务治疗方案。立法的存在与协议的存在之间没有关联（=0.991）。立法的存在与地区之间没有关联（=0.144）：东北部 66.7%（95%CI，29.9-92.5%），中西部 50.0%（95%CI，21.1-78.9%），南部 29.4%（95%CI，10.3-56.0%），西部 23.1%（95%CI，5.0-53.8%）。全州范围内 OpK9 治疗方案的存在存在显著的区域差异（=0.001）：东北部 100.0%（95%CI，66.4-100.0%），中西部 16.7%（95%CI，2.1-48.4%），南部 47.1%（95%CI，23.0-72.2%），西部 30.8%（95%CI，9.1-61.4%）。
在 OpK9 法律和/或临床指导方面存在很大差异。建议制定国家协作准则以优化和规范 OpK9 的护理。应更多关注教育和培训计划，以充分利用有限的可用培训预算。
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