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Monitoring OA with COAST

Developed by international specialists in orthopedic health, anesthesia and pain management, the Canine Osteoarthritis Staging Tool (COAST) provides a standardized approach to evaluating dogs with clinical signs of osteoarthritis (OA) and those at risk of developing OA.1

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Optimize canine OA management1

COAST combines both veterinarian and pet owner evaluations of the patient to determine the full
impact of the disease on the dog.
Potential benefits of implementing COAST:

Consistency in
evaluation and
re-evaluation of
canine patients

Facilitates
discussions with
owners of
‘at risk’ dogs

Improved
pet owner
engagement and
understanding

Opportunity for
early diagnosis
and intervention

Optimized
patient care

Pet owner assessments

COAST incorporates pet owner input from any appropriate clinical metrology instrument (CMI).
The Liverpool Osteoarthritis in Dogs index (LOAD), developed by the University of Liverpool and exclusively distributed by Elanco, is regarded as one of the most comprehensively validated CMIs for canine OA 2-5. The Elanco Orthopedic Health Assistant can directly incorporate LOAD online into the COAST assessment digitally.

Help to act early

Developed by experts

COAST has been developed by a group of specialists in small animal orthopedics, anesthesia and pain management from a wide geographical area.1

  • T. Cachon
  • O. Frykman
  • J.F. Innes
  • B.D.X Lascelles
  • M. Okumura
  • P. Sousa
  • F. Staffieri
  • P.V. Steagall
  • B.Van Ryssen

To read the full paper from the COAST development group click here

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  1. Cachon T, Frykman O, Innes J, et al. Face validity of a proposed tool for staging canine osteoarthritis: Canine OsteoArthritis Staging Tool (COAST). Vet J. 2018;235:1-8.
  2. Hercock CA, Pinchbeck G, Giejda A, Clegg PD, Innes JF. Validation of a client‑based clinical metrology instrument for the evaluation of canine elbow osteoarthritis. Journal of Small Animal Practice. 2009 Jun;50(6):266-71.
  3. Muller C, Gaines B, Gruen M, Case B, Arrufat K, Innes J, Lascelles BD. Evaluation of clinical metrology instrument in dogs with osteoarthritis. Journal of veterinary internal medicine. 2016 May;30(3):836-46.
  4. Walton MB, Cowderoy E, Lascelles D, Innes JF. Evaluation of construct and criterion validity for the ‘Liverpool Osteoarthritis in Dogs’(LOAD) clinical metrology instrument and comparison to two other instruments. PLoS One. 2013 Mar 7;8(3):e58125.
  5. Walton B, Cox T, Innes J. ‘How do I know my animal got better?' - measuring outcomes in small animal orthopaedics. In Practice. 2018 Mar 1;40(2):42-50.