Letter regarding “Efficacy of adding ramipril (VAsotop) to the combination of furosemide (Lasix) and pimobendan (VEtmedin) in dogs with mitral valve degeneration: The VALVE trial”

• Published in: Journal of veterinary internal medicine Vol. 35; no. 2; pp. 694 - 695
• Main Authors: Oyama, Mark A., Gelzer, Anna R., Kraus, Marc S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.03.2021; Wiley
• Subjects: Clinical medicine; Clinical trials; Letter to the Editor; Letters to the Editor; Veterinary medicine
• ISSN: 0891-6640; 1939-1676
• DOI: 10.1111/jvim.16036

Development of evidence-based treatment guidelines rely on results of randomized clinical trials such as the VALVE study, and the more fully the trial design, execution, administration, and reporting are understood, the more reliable the resultant guidelines. Unlike other randomized clinical trials in dogs with heart disease, 3-6 the VALVE manuscript does not include full results of these analyses. There are administrative features of the VALVE study that would benefit from further clarification, including description of study execution as following Good Clinical Practice, which involves well-defined, comprehensive, stringent, and verifiable practices on both the part of the investigator and sponsor, including data auditing by independent monitors, reporting of all adverse events, and preservation of records, to name a few. 8 Performing clinical trials in veterinary medicine is extremely challenging and the authors are congratulated on tackling an important clinical question.