The Animal Trauma Triage Score outperforms the VetCOT score in cats with high-rise syndrome.

Animal Trauma Triage Score superior to VetCOT for mortality prediction in cats with high-rise syndrome.

This retrospective observational study evaluated two trauma scoring systems in 60 cats presenting with high-rise syndrome. The Animal Trauma Triage Score (ATTS) demonstrated significantly superior prognostic performance compared to the Veterinary Committee on Trauma (VetCOT) score for predicting mortality, with AUC values of 0.85 versus 0.709 respectively. Eight cats (13%) did not survive to discharge. Multivariate analysis identified four independent factors associated with worse outcomes: requirement for vasopressor therapy, greater height of fall, elevated serum lactate, and higher ATTS values. The study highlights important species-specific physiological differences between cats and canines that influence trauma score applicability. The authors conclude that feline-specific validation of trauma scoring systems is necessary, as existing systems represent adaptations from canine or mixed-species data. These findings have direct clinical implications for prognostication and treatment planning in cats with high-rise syndrome, supporting the use of ATTS over VetCOT in this population.

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