Research Papers
Harness
Racing
Council Inc
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TC02 REVIEW - SUB-COMMITTEE REPORT Research Papers |
Australian Harness Racing Council Inc |
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Submitted to the Australian
Harness Racing Council Inc FOR GENERAL RELEASE Release Date: 10 April 2001
That a Sub-Committee be created, to be chaired by Dr Diane Ryan to conduct an evaluation of the existing material available to Council on TC02, and to have the power to co-opt the necessary expert advice and opinions in order to arrive at a recommendation to the AHRC of the:
Report to the Executive with a Summary and Recommendations within 12 weeks, then the Executive to consider, prior to referral to Council Members. 2. TC02 REVIEW SUB-COMMITTEE PARTICIPANTS & OTHERSSub Committee Participants
President, Australian Equine Veterinary Association Legal Counsel, Australian Harness Racing Council Racing Forensic Laboratories
Independent Consulting Biometricians
Australian Harness Racing Council, Corporate Services
Standardbred Diet Survey
Notes: 1. Professor Reuben Rose, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney withdrew from Sub-Committee on 19th March 2001. 2. The Final Report to the AHRC Executive has been prepared by the Review Sub-Committee comprising Dr Diane Ryan, Dr Derek Major, Dean Cooper and Rod Pollock (Secretary). Neither Professor Rose nor any participant from the Racing Forensic Laboratories has been involved in its preparation. Racing Laboratories The Racing Forensic Laboratories information utilised in the Plasma samples analysis were from:
Note: Sample Data was provided by the Laboratory or the State Controlling Body. 3. REPORT OBJECTIVE FOR RACING FORENSIC LABORATORIES The intention is that all racing laboratories involved in the testing programme:
MEASUREMENT OF TC02 The principle of measurement of TC02 must be identical throughout Australia. Specifically:-
LABORATORY PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE a. Laboratory procedures and methodologies including recognising the requirements of the International Laboratory Accreditation Co-operation should be regularly reviewed as part of the NATA Accreditation. b. All testing laboratories must standardise their methodology and processes. Certified referee material must be in place. c. It was recommended that five (5) samples should be taken to effectively complete the process of analysis. One primary sample is required as the screening sample with the other samples required for any subsequent analysis. d. It was suggested that a smaller tube (5ml container) with a narrow bore/gauge needle be utilised for collection and animal welfare reasons. e. All laboratory processes including instrument calibration and equipment testing should be standardised in all States. It is noted that the Beckman Synchron EL-ISE has been in use in all 4 Australian Racing Laboratories since 1992. Further that methods have been standardised and that the same batches of calibrators, controls and standards are currently in use. f. The AHRC/State Controlling Bodies should develop a specific uniform laboratory contractual agreement to undertake and operate this testing program nationally. g. Significant laboratory networking, peer review and inter-laboratory collaboration beyond the current formal referee sample system should be encouraged and adopted in a formal system. h. Consideration of the logistics of transportation between Western Australia and other States is an important consideration given the airfreight time involved. A range of benchmark requirements should be mandated to operate across the "collection to analysis" cycle. i. That all laboratories nationally develop and update a standardised reporting system. There should be not be any truncation or artificial factoring of any results from the testing program as has occurred in Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia in the recent past. Whilst acknowledging that this approach has been of benefit for the trainer through this conservative approach of under-reporting; accuracy in the raw results is essential. It is recommended that the Racing Laboratories exercise no independent judgement on the testing results. j. That any "observable" impacting changes to any part of the laboratory’s processing operations or methodologies be reported to the AHRC/State Controlling Body within one (1) month with an impact statement detailing the occurrence, its effect on the testing program and any necessary action implemented or planned. This will enable the Regulatory Body to consider its approach for industry participants. k. That each State Controlling Body record and compile standardised information on its testing program utilising the national computer system. Reporting information on the testing programs results to our industry should occur with a defined lag. l. In the International Agreement for the Federation of Horseracing Authorities in Clause 18 it states that their laboratories should:
m. Additionally the International Agreement in Clause 19 suggests that "with the objective of preventing infringements, the administrative Body may:-
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL TC02 THRESHOLD LEVELS a. Throughout many submissions and other industry documentation much has been made of comparisons with both the Australian Thoroughbred Industry (36mmol/L) and the Accord of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (37mmol/L), the International Agreement. b. In firstly considering the International Agreement it should be noted that it is designed for the guidance of the Racing and Breeding Authorities internationally so that … in their own Rules of Racing and Breeding, they may aspire to the absolute protection of the integrity of horseracing. It should be noted that the Australian Thoroughbred Industry is not a signatory to the Agreement in respect of the level of 37mmol/L. It has varied the agreement for the area defined as Section 5, Sanctions and the threshold level to 36mmol/L. This is a significant statement in this international forum. c. Reference was made to the United States and their policies. Enquiries were made to the United States Trotting Association, Professor Richard Sams Laboratory Director of the Analytical Toxicology Laboratory at The Ohio State University provided a response based on the Ohio jurisdiction. The response is attached for information. It is noted that there are many similar areas to Australia. They utilise a level of 37mmol/L. However the United States of America and Canada are also not signatories to the International Agreement referred to above. d. It is considered that these factors should be noted in Council’s evaluation on the Australian TC02 threshold level. In addition, reference should be made to the article by Dr David Auer, Director of the Racing Science Centre, Queensland. It is entitled "Facts pertaining to establishing a threshold concentration for the total plasma carbon dioxide concentration of Australian harness horses. TC02 THRESHOLD LEVEL OF 35mmoI/L a. The initial work done in developing the threshold of 35mmol/l was undertaken in the early 1990’s. The results of experiments conducted at Harold Park and then subsequently for 95 Standardbred horses in the Bankstown, Fairfield and Menangle areas from 20 different racehorses were analysed on three machines the Beckman EL-ISE Autoanalyzer, Ciba-Corning Fast 4 Autoanalyzer and Radiometer ABL 300 blood gas machine in the Equine Exercise and Drug Evaluation Laboratory at the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, University of Sydney. The result was a very narrow distribution between 25.4mmol/L to 32.7mmol/L. It was important to note that in this initial work the tc02 values as measured by the Radiometer blood gas analyser were on average 1.4mmol lower than the TC02 concentration measured on a Beckman-Elise Autoanalyser, which is the machine currently used by the Racing Laboratories. The results of the Population Study were:
b. Council adopted a threshold of 35mmol/L with an actionable level of 36.2mmol/L in all States with the exception of Western Australia with a level of 36.4mmol/L. The Beckman is in use as the key piece of equipment in the Racing Laboratories now. (Refer Dr David Auer’s Articles). c. Advances in technology with its procedures and processes over time have meant that consideration of the threshold is also appropriate. The information contained in the Biometrician’s Report and the Standardbred Diet Survey reveal changes to a number of areas not evident in the early 1990’s. The significant feeding patterns utilising different combinations indicates normal usage of electrolytes, citrates etc. The knowledge of products and their combination cannot be estimated or known in an industry of professionals, semi-professionals and hobbyists however the Diet Survey is indicative. d. Although Council consensus on a threshold level of 35mmol/L was achieved there was considerable discussion prior to agreement. The principal reason for setting the threshold level of 35mmol/L was to counter the practice of "milkshaking" and masking/disguising other prohibited substances. There is evidence to suggest that in the current environment innocent action may result in exceeding the threshold level. e. The Biometrician has reported that assuming that the data basically represents a population of untreated horses then between 1.8% (the Queensland estimate) and 2.8% (the South Australian estimate) of samples will naturally occur above 35mmol/L. That is if this is considered to be a valid assumption. That is, if 35mmol/L is the threshold limit then between 18 and 28 in every 1000 samples will be detected as having excessive TC02 levels. They may or may not exceed the actionable level. Their conclusion is that this would appear too high. The statistics are not normally distributed. Refer Dr David Auer’s Articles on the statistical concepts relative to Type 1 and Type 2 errors and their implications. LABORATORY UNCERTAINTY OF MEASUREMENT The Australian Laboratories have an explicit allowance for the measurement of uncertainty. Racing Laboratories are participating in the preparation and implementation of ISO 17025, which requires laboratories to estimate their uncertainty of measurement. The following should be contemplated:
As a direct result of the change from CASCO to ASE the Racing Forensic Laboratories are engaged in work on this area. The Review Sub-Committee considers it important that the testing program nationally be considered as one laboratory with different sites standardised and consistent. This calculation is to cover anything that happens in a laboratory so as not to cause variation in testing. The pursuit of accreditation both nationally and internationally further aids this process. This will also further develop the standards in the control material themselves. The standard is what is used to determine the measurement of uncertainty. The use of the control material is important for establishing the rules of rejection in machine calibration for testing. The laboratories already do a significant amount of interlaboratory collaboration. The highest standard possible together with quality benchmark controls/management is essential in this area. It is considered that one laboratory uncertainty of measurement should apply throughout Australia. TRANSITION FROM CASCO TO ASE STANDARDS a. Council was first made aware of changes in these Standards at its Special General Meeting in May 2000 in Melbourne. Reference should be made to Dr John Vine’s Paper on Measurement of TC02 in Australia "Pages 2 to 4". b. The CASCO (CASCO-NERL Diagnostics, Maine) Standard Change to ASE (Australian Scientific Enterprises Pty Ltd) is now well documented and communicated. The laboratories have advised on the technical steps taken to maintain the integrity and accuracy of the testing process after identification and during the changeover transition period. The laboratories adopted methods of truncating the results and factoring data downwards to reduce the reported values. South Australia adopted an even more conservative approach at the time. This action favoured the industry participant in the past. c. Discussion with the Racing Laboratories has ensured that in their opinion the necessitated change has resulted in a more accurate/robust calculation of the TC02 measurement. This is a direct result because the instrument is now calibrated between 27mmol/L and 39mmol/L. The statistics as provided by the Biometrical Consulting Service show a range of information, which will be summarised later. However, an important indicator is presented by the Table entitled Means of TC02 values on a State-by-State basis. The part of the Table refers to the immediate period between the last CASCO period and the next two ASE periods. The data is: Means of TC02 values on a State-by-State basis.
By observation, it would appear that the mean has risen in this transition period. The frequency is included to dimension the sampling undertaken. Consider in association with (b) immediately above. d. Where any change occurs the Racing Laboratories must communicate such change to the relevant State Controlling Body and AHRC. AHRC/STATE CONTROLLING BODY POLICY a. The Policy on collection of samples for all States must be uniform, standardised and published. The policy should clearly define all aspects of the collection, handling, transportation and hand-over of samples to the Racing Laboratories. Timeframes must be mandated to operate against. b. It is considered important that further work be conducted and policy implemented on the following areas:
c. Establish and monitor compliance of the testing program and its data through the statistical data collected. There is a lack of comprehensive consistency in the current testing programs and data collected. d. A specific education process be developed for distance learning and internet/seminar delivery for harness racing industry participants. e. Council has accepted that technological and other environmental changes between the trainer, the racing scene and the standardbred are adequately catered for through improvements undertaken by the Racing Forensic Laboratories over time. It has not previously reviewed this important area. Future review needs to occur periodically. They need to be open and further gain the best scientific evidence available of matters, which are researched adequately to reduce any impacting variables influencing the testing program. In this way external impacting variables can be minimised. f. Identify, design and fund a number of research studies on areas of investigation in conjunction with appropriate scientific resources in conjunction with the Australian Racing Forensic Laboratories. The effects for example of the longer continued usage of low dose drug administration and whether it has a cumulative effect. The administration of alkalising salts etc. maybe another as is the legitimate use of therapeutic drugs. David Auer’s Paper is important here as it suggests that there is an important need to balance the needs of trainers, the welfare and integrity of the racing industry together with the interests of the horse. 4. SUPPORTING PAPERS & DOCUMENTATION
These papers are not for general
release as they will be discussed in Council’s Meeting on Monday 30th
April 2001. Please note that the confidentiality aspects on the Written
Submissions, Scientific References and Other Presentations have been
maintained. The summary report delineates the issues and areas raised by the
submissions etc. tendered. The various papers are identified
and listed: 5. OTHER
SELECT PUBLISHED PAPERS
Kimberley F Kauffman and others
FOR GENERAL RELEASE |
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