Development of incident severity classification for laboratory animals.

Area of Science:

• Laboratory animal science
• Veterinary medicine
• Animal welfare science

Background:

• Incident reporting systems (IRS) are crucial for preventing adverse events in research settings.
• Limited research exists on IRS effectiveness specifically within laboratory animal facilities.
• Standardized methods are needed to assess the severity and impact of incidents involving laboratory animals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate an incident severity classification for laboratory animals (ISCLA).
• To evaluate the utility of the ISCLA in assessing the usefulness of IRS in laboratory animal facilities.
• To analyze incident characteristics and their impact on animal welfare and experimental outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of 23 incidents reported to an IRS from March 2019 to February 2020.
• Development of the Incident Severity Classification for Laboratory Animals (ISCLA) based on incident impact.
• Statistical analysis to compare incident severity between different facility areas (e.g., housing vs. supporting areas).

Main Results:

• The ISCLA was developed to categorize incidents based on severity, with categories ranging from 0 to 5 (no incidents in 4b or 5).
• Three incidents impacting experimental data were classified into categories 3b and 4a, with one causing moderate distress.
• Incidents in animal housing areas were significantly more severe than those in supporting areas (P=0.002).

Conclusions:

• Incident reporting systems reveal characteristics not apparent from individual incident analysis alone.
• The developed ISCLA is a valuable tool for evaluating IRS effectiveness and guiding improvement measures in laboratory animal facilities.
• Implementing the ISCLA enhances the systematic management of risks and welfare in animal research settings.