A novel trauma model: naturally occurring canine trauma.

In human trauma patients, most deaths result from hemorrhage and brain injury, whereas late deaths, although rare, are the result of multiple organ failure and sepsis. A variety of experimental animal models have been developed to investigate the pathophysiology of traumatic injury and evaluate novel interventions. Similar to other experimental models, these trauma models cannot recapitulate conditions of naturally occurring trauma, and therefore therapeutic interventions based on these models are often ineffective. Pet dogs with naturally occurring traumatic injury represent a promising translational model for human trauma that could be used to assess novel therapies. The purpose of this article was to review the naturally occurring canine trauma literature to highlight the similarities between canine and human trauma. The American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Veterinary Committee on Trauma has initiated the establishment of a national network of veterinary trauma centers to enhance uniform delivery of care to canine trauma patients. In addition, the Spontaneous Trauma in Animals Team, a multidisciplinary, multicenter group of researchers has created a clinical research infrastructure for carrying out large-scale clinical trials in canine trauma patients. Moving forward, these national resources can be utilized to facilitate multicenter prospective studies of canine trauma to evaluate therapies and interventions that have shown promise in experimental animal models, thus closing the critical gap in the translation of knowledge from experimental models to humans and increasing the likelihood of success in phases 1 and 2 human clinical trials.