Type 1 immune‐mediated polyarthritis in dogs and lack of a temporal relationship to vaccination. (2nd November 2017) - Idowu, O. A.
Abstract : Objectives: To investigate whether there is a temporal relationship between vaccination and the onset of type 1 immune‐mediated polyarthritis in dogs. Materials and Methods: Retrospective case–control study: 39 dogs from a referral hospital with a diagnosis of type 1 immune‐mediated polyarthritis were age‐matched with 78 control dogs with other diagnoses. A temporal association between vaccination and polyarthritis was considered positive if recent vaccination had been performed within 28 days of the onset of clinical signs of immune‐mediated polyarthritis. The odds ratio association of recent vaccination with immune‐mediated polyarthritis was calculated using matched case–control methods. Results: Of the 39 dogs in the type 1 immune‐mediated polyarthritis group, four had been vaccinated within 28 days before onset of clinical signs compared to six dogs in the control group. The odds ratio for a dog developing type 1 immune‐mediated polyarthritis if vaccinated within the last 28 days was estimated to be 1·44 (95% confidence interval 0·25 to 8·24, P = 0·88). Clinical Significance: There was no evidence of a temporal relationship between vaccination and type 1 immune‐mediated polyarthritis, although the large confidence interval on the odds ratio suggests a need for larger studies to confirm this finding.