The IACUC handbook, 3rd edn.

Edited by:
  • Jerald Silverman,
  • Mark A. Suckow &
  • Sreekant Murthy
CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL Price: $89.95 Hardcover, 827 pages ISBN: 978-1466555648 | ISBN: 978-1-4665-5564-8
Credit: Copywright 2014.

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUCs) ensure that animals used in research and teaching are used and cared for humanely. IACUCs guide and monitor institutional research to maintain compliance with regulations for animal care and use. The third edition of The IACUC Handbook, like its predecessors, provides a thorough compilation of best practices and it is an invaluable addition to the library of any institution involved with animal research. It is a useful resource for both veteran and novice IACUCs, with easily accessible answers to many of the difficult issues that IACUCs address on a routine basis.

This edition of The IACUC Handbook incorporates revisions and new guidance from the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, 8th edition and AVMA Guidelines for Euthanasia of Animals: 2013 edition. As noted in the book's preface, representatives of both the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare and the United States Department of Agriculture have reviewed all chapters of The IACUC Handbook. This should give readers some confidence that regulations are properly cited throughout the book. These same representatives also authored an introduction of the book, wherein they caution readers to “not apply these interpretations out of context or to extend them beyond their intended meaning.”

Each of the editors and chapter authors have years of experience working with IACUCs at an institutional level. Much of the textual material is authored by veterinarians and complemented by the expertise of researchers and IACUC administrators. As in previous editions, The IACUC Handbook uses a question/answer format in this edition to provide information with appropriate references to regulations, if available. References to regulations are supplemented by written opinions, either supplied by the authors of the relevant chapter or based upon responses gathered in a survey of 281 questions. This survey was conducted at institutions assured by the Public Health Service, and its results describe the best practices used and observed across the IACUCs of these institutions. All of this information is made quickly and efficiently accessible to readers through general chapter headings, a structured index and numerous cross-references that are noted within the text itself.

Most chapters address common questions that are similar to questions found in previous editions, but this edition also features information on subjects that are newly relevant or have simply received much attention in recent years. Some general topics include the use of experimental and humane endpoints during experiments with animals; mechanisms for informing the IACUC of unexpected outcomes; more intensive review of experimental protocols that incorporate physical restraint, multiple survival surgeries and food or fluid restriction or regulation; use of non-pharmaceutical grade compounds; and post-approval monitoring. Many more changes and updates appear within their specific chapters. Chapter 8 ('Submission and Maintenance of IACUC Protocols') features a discussion on the acceptability of electronic signatures, and Chapter 9 ('General Concepts of Protocol Review') includes responses to survey questions regarding reviews of scientific merit in protocol applications and of congruency between protocols and grants. Chapter 9 also includes discussions of teleconferencing, electronic communication, methods of polling IACUC members, and the use of commercial IACUCs. Chapter 14 ('Animal Acquisition and Disposition') addresses the use of privately owned animals and animal cadavers in research and the practice of donating surplus or culled animals as a food source to other captive animals, and Chapter 17 ('Euthanasia') has been substantially revised and reorganized to thoroughly cover different types and circumstances of euthanasia. Chapter 22 ('Confidential and Proprietary Information') considers IACUC response to requests for public records, through the Freedom of Information Act or through other means, and Chapter 30 ('Postapproval Monitoring') suggests the importance of using clearly defined titles when establishing a post approval monitoring program. Chapter 31 ('The European Ethical Review Framework') addresses international perspectives and gives insights into the EU regulatory environment. This entire chapter is new with the third edition, added with the understanding that collaboration will continue to increase between US and European researchers, especially among academic and pharmaceutical institutions.

With this third edition, The IACUC Handbook continues to provide a foundation for readers to understand and implement the responsibilities of an IACUC. It is a valuable source of practical information and best practices to be implemented by institutional IACUCs according to regulatory requirements and guidance. The IACUC Handbook is a useful reference for all matters related to IACUCs, and it is ideal for IACUC members and staff, institutional officials, attending veterinarians and their staff and general research staff.