Topic:Clinical Signs
Clinical signs in horses refer to observable physical or behavioral manifestations that may indicate the presence of disease or injury. These signs can include a range of symptoms such as changes in appetite, alterations in gait, abnormal respiratory patterns, or variations in body temperature. Recognizing clinical signs is an integral part of equine veterinary practice, as they provide initial insights into the health status of the animal. Veterinarians rely on these signs to formulate differential diagnoses and guide further diagnostic testing. This page gathers peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the identification, interpretation, and diagnostic value of clinical signs in equine health management.
Conflict Between Direct Experience and Research-Based Evidence Is a Key Challenge to Evidence-Based Respiratory Medicine on British Racing Yards. Inflammatory airway disease (IAD) is a commonly diagnosed but variably defined syndrome of equine lower airway inflammation. The most recent American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) consensus statement, informed by research evidence, recommends a case definition based on clinical signs (poor performance or occasional coughing of at least 3 weeks duration), increased endoscopically-visible tracheal mucus, and bronchoalveolar lavage cytology, and proposes that the condition should be termed 'mild-moderate equine asthma' (mEA). In British Thoroughbred racehorses, research to date ...
Hematological and Biochemical Changes in Naturally Occurring Equine Piroplasmosis in Donkeys (Equus asinus) of Northwest of Iran. Equine piroplasmosis is a tick-borne protozoal disease affecting horses, mules, donkeys and zebras and can lead to severe economic losses in the equine industry. There is limited information on clinical pathologic changes of equine piroplasmosis in donkeys. This study aims to investigate the impacts of babesiosis on various hematological and biochemical properties in naturally infected donkeys with Theileria equi and Babesia caballi. Methods: A total of 200 apparently healthy donkeys were randomly examined for the presence of equine piroplasmosis in blood samples. Of 200 samples, 11(5.5%) anim...
Parasite load and genotype are associated with clinical outcome of piroplasm-infected equines in Israel. Equine piroplasmosis is a highly endemic protozoan disease of horses worldwide, caused by Theileria equi and Babesia caballi. While most horses in endemic areas are subclinically infected, the mechanisms leading to clinical outcome are vastly unknown. Moreover, since clinical signs of disease are not specific, and the prevalence in endemic areas is high, it is difficult to determine if equine piroplasmosis is the cause of disease. To identify possible mechanisms leading to the clinical outcome in an endemic area, we compared parasite loads and genotypes in clinically and subclinically infected...
Long-term successful treatment of a donkey with cutaneous lupus erythematous with methotrexate. Cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) is a rare immune-mediated dermatitis. To the best of the authors' knowledge it has not been described in donkeys. A 5-year-old male neutered donkey, living in south-east France, was diagnosed with CLE. Clinical signs included generalized symmetrical areas of alopecia, erythema, crusting and scales. Diagnostic tests included examination of skin biopsy samples by histopathological and immunohistochemical analysis which demonstrated an interface dermatitis with CD8+ T cells. The skin condition was successfully treated initially with glucocorticoids and methotre...
A long-term study of equine cheek teeth post-extraction complications: 428 cheek teeth (2004-2018). Complications, especially delayed alveolar healing, are common following equine cheek teeth extraction, however, limited objective information is available on the prevalence and nature of these problems. Objective: To document the type and prevalence of complications that occur following equine cheek tooth extraction and to identify possible risk factors for these complications that could be used to predict their occurrence and hopefully reduce their prevalence. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Clinical records of all cheek teeth extractions performed between February 2004 and Sep...
Intra-abdominal Pressure Screening of Horses With Colic. The objective of this study was to evaluate changes in intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) in horses with colic by associating the underlying etiologies with directly acquired IAP values and survival rate. This is a 2-year cohort study (2014-2016). Horses with clinical signs of colic were admitted to the veterinary teaching hospital during the period 2014-2016. Twenty-eight horses, of different breeds, males (stallions and geldings) and females, aged between 2 and 20 years, and weighing from 300 to 450 kg presenting with clinical signs of colic, were included in the study. IAP was directly acquir...
Acute, subacute and chronic sequelae of horses accidentally exposed to monensin-contaminated feed. Monensin is highly toxic to horses and inadvertent ingestion can result in cardiac injury and death. Objective: To describe sequelae of monensin ingestion and to determine clinical predictors of outcome. Methods: Observational clinical study. Methods: Physical examination, electrocardiogram and echocardiography were performed on 76 horses accidentally exposed to monensin-contaminated feed. Four horses were examined within 14 days of exposure (acute period), 29 horses were examined between 15 and 45 days post-exposure (subacute period) and 70 horses were examined 4-10 months after exposure ...
Variation in disease phenotype is marked in equine trypanosomiasis. Equine trypanosomiasis is a severe and prevalent disease that has the greatest impact globally upon working equids due to its distribution across lower income countries. Morbidity and mortality rates are high; disease management strategies in endemic regions are ineffective and cost prohibitive. Individual variation in disease phenotype in other species suggests host factors could reveal novel treatment and control targets but has not been investigated in equids. Methods: A prospective clinical evaluation of equines presenting for a free veterinary examination was performed in hyperendemic vil...
Development of a Cartilage Oligomeric Matrix Protein Neo-Epitope Assay for the Detection of Intra-Thecal Tendon Disease. The diagnosis of tendon injury relies on clinical signs and diagnostic imaging but imaging is subjective and does not always correlate with clinical signs. A molecular marker would potentially offer a sensitive and specific diagnostic tool that could also provide objective assessment of healing for the comparison of different treatments. Cartilage Oligomeric Matrix Protein (COMP) has been used as a molecular marker for osteoarthritis in humans and horses but assays for the protein in tendon sheath synovial fluids have shown overlap between horses affected by tendinopathy and controls. We hypot...
Using Artificial Intelligence to Predict Survivability Likelihood and Need for Surgery in Horses Presented With Acute Abdomen (Colic). Artificial intelligence and machine learning have promising applications in several medical fields of diagnosis, imaging, and laboratory testing procedures. However, the use of this technology in the veterinary medicine field is lagging behind, and there are many areas where it could be used with potentially successful outcomes and results. In this study, two critical predictions were explored in horses presented with acute abdomen (colic) using this technology. Those were the need for surgical intervention and survivability likelihood of affected horses based on clinical data (history, clinic...
The effects of a nutritional supplement containing salacinol in neonatal Thoroughbred foals. A nutritional supplement containing salacinol (NSS) was administered to Thoroughbred foals daily beginning 21 days after birth, and clinical signs and intestinal microbiota were analyzed. The average number of days for which foals exhibited a fever between 21 and 110 days after birth was determined. The number of days was significantly reduced, by approximately 1/3, in the NSS group compared with the control group. Furthermore, improved weight gain was observed in the NSS group compared with the control group. By analyzing the intestinal microbiota, it was determined that the ratio of Clostrid...
Equine Influenza Diagnosis: Sample Collection and Transport. In horses, presumptive diagnosis of equine influenza is commonly made on the basis of clinical signs. This alone is insufficient for confirmation of equine influenza, because other equine infectious respiratory diseases can in some degree have similar clinical presentations. Surveillance and control of equine influenza also necessitate detection of subclinical cases. Effective diagnosis of equine influenza virus infection is critically dependent on obtaining adequate specimens of virus-containing respiratory secretions for testing. These specimens are also valuable as sources for isolation of ...
Congenital phimosis causing preputial swelling in a newborn foal. An 18-hour-old colt was presented for abdominal discomfort, preputial swelling, and frequent posturing to urinate. Examination of the scrotum confirmed 2 testes and no scrotal or inguinal hernia. Transabdominal ultrasound identified a distended bladder and no free fluid in the peritoneal cavity. Inspection of the preputial cavity revealed that the internal lamina of the prepuce was mostly attached to the glans penis. The preputial cavity was lubricated and manual traction was applied to detach the internal lamina of the prepuce from the glans penis. The colt urinated spontaneously 1 hour after...
Clinical findings, diagnoses, and outcomes of horses presented for colic to a referral hospital in Atlantic Canada (2000-2015). Medical records of equine patients presented for signs of abdominal pain to the Atlantic Veterinary College Teaching Hospital between 2000 and 2015 were reviewed. A total of 575 patients were enrolled, and the most common clinical findings, diagnoses, and outcomes are described. Potential predictors of survival to discharge were assessed. The most common diagnosis was large colon impaction (18.4%), followed by large colon volvulus (6.2%). Overall survival to discharge was 69%. The survival rates for horses were 82.9% for those with no diagnosis, 74.6% for those with large intestine lesions, an...
Clinical Pathology in the Foal. The dynamic physiologic changes and unique diet during the neonatal period contribute to key differences in clinicopathologic test results of healthy foals relative to healthy adult horses. When reporting results, most diagnostic laboratories only provide reference intervals for mature horses. Thus, failure to recognize the unique differences that occur in foals relative to adult horses can lead to erroneous interpretation of neonatal clinical pathologic values. Thus, the main objective of this article was to review distinct features of common clinicopathologic tests in foals, relative to matu...
African Horse Sickness Fever in Vaccinated Horses: Short Communication. Our investigation has shown that multiple vaccinations with inactivated African horse sickness (AHS) vaccines containing all 9 serotypes and produced at the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory in Dubai, UAE, protect horses from AHS. However, the immunization did not prevent African horse sickness fever (AHSF) in approximately 10% of the vaccinated horses despite high enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and virus neutralizing antibodies. African horse sickness fever is a very mild form of AHS with similar clinical signs. From all 6 horses which had developed AHSF, no virus was isolated from ED...
Usefulness of a Point-of-Care Analyzer to Measure Cardiac Troponin I and D-Dimer Concentrations in Critically Ill Horses With Gastrointestinal Diseases. Point-of-care (POC) systems for the joint measurement of Troponin and D-dimers have not been studied in horses. The aim of this study was to perform the validation of a POC system (AQT90 FLEX) for the measurement of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and D-dimers in the serum of horses with gastrointestinal diseases. The main objective was to evaluate whether or not this system can distinguish healthy animals from diseased animals. A sample of 33 horses was included in the study: control group (n = 10) and horses with gastrointestinal disorders (n = 21), which were classified according to their outco...
Isolation and Molecular Analysis of a Novel Neorickettsia Species That Causes Potomac Horse Fever. Potomac horse fever (PHF), a severe and frequently fatal febrile diarrheal disease, has been known to be caused only by , an endosymbiont of digenean trematodes. Here, we report the cell culture isolation of a new species found in two locations in eastern Ontario, Canada, in 2016 and 2017 (in addition to 10 variable strains of ) from PCR-negative horses with clinical signs of PHF. Gene sequences of 16S rRNA and the major surface antigen P51 of this new species were distinct from those of all previously characterized strains and species, except for those from an uncharacterized species cu...
Recent developments in equine dentistry. Equine dentistry is a rapidly developing clinical specialty. It has benefitted from key advances in anatomical and physiological research, development of equipment and instrumentation, utilisation of standing sedation and anaesthesia protocols, a change towards minimally invasive surgical techniques, and the introduction of restorative and endodontic techniques translated from techniques used in human and canine dentistry. Anatomical research has provided further insight into the endodontic system of incisors and cheek teeth and how it changes throughout development with age. Studies of the pe...
Risk factors for equine recurrent uveitis in a population of Appaloosa horses in western Canada. To characterize clinical manifestations, measure frequency, and evaluate risk factors for equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) in Appaloosa horses in western Canada. Methods: 145 Appaloosa horses. Methods: Ophthalmic examinations were completed and eyes were classified as having no or mild clinical signs, or moderate, or severe damage from ERU. Clinical signs, age, sex, base coat color, and pattern were recorded. Whole blood and/or mane hair follicles were collected for DNA extraction, and all horses were tested for the leopard complex (LP) spotting pattern allele. Pedigree analysis was completed on...
Prediction of the onset of parturition in horses and cattle. Economic losses due to dystocia or neonatal death as well as animal welfare and ethical concerns demand a reliable prediction of parturition with the aim to improve survival of the dam and her offspring. In this review, estimation of gestational age by ultrasound and prediction of parturition based on clinical signs, behaviour changes and changes in body temperature, composition of mammary gland secretions as well as hormonal changes are discussed in comparison between horses and cattle. Based on the physiological changes associated with the end of gestation and onset of labor, several systems...
Tetanus in animals. Tetanus is a neurologic disease of humans and animals characterized by spastic paralysis. Tetanus is caused by tetanus toxin (TeNT) produced by Clostridium tetani, an environmental soilborne, gram-positive, sporulating bacterium. The disease most often results from wound contamination by soil containing C. tetani spores. Horses, sheep, and humans are highly sensitive to TeNT, whereas cattle, dogs, and cats are more resistant. The diagnosis of tetanus is mainly based on the characteristic clinical signs. Identification of C. tetani at the wound site is often difficult.
Preliminary analysis of the FAM174A gene suggests it lacks a strong association with equine metabolic syndrome in ponies. Equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) describes a group of risk factors, including obesity and insulin dysregulation (hyperinsulinemia and/or insulin resistance), that can lead to the development of the debilitating hoof disease laminitis. Although the underlying mechanisms of EMS are not fully understood, a genetic component has been reported, and an 11 guanine polymorphism located at the FAM174A gene has been identified as a risk locus for the syndrome in Arabian horses. To examine associations between the FAM174A risk allele and the clinical signs of EMS, the allele was examined in an Australian ...
Practical Tips on Sample Handling for Hematology, Chemistry, and Cytology Testing for Equine Patients:: Getting More Bang for your Buck. Clinical pathology results are only as good as the quality of samples and accompanying information submitted to the diagnostic laboratory. The frustration of nondiagnostic or equivocal test results can often be avoided by taking the time to follow sample handling and submission guidelines. This article discusses preanalytical errors that commonly affect the accuracy of hematology, chemistry, and cytology testing, and offers practical tips for preventing these errors and maximizing diagnostic yield.
Clinical Pathology in the Adult Sick Horse: The Gastrointestinal System and Liver. The gastrointestinal tract and liver comprise key components of the equine digestive system and together have important functions in metabolism, digestion, absorption, detoxification, and synthesis. Disorders of the gastrointestinal tract and liver are common in clinical practice and can cause a variety of clinical signs. Hematologic and biochemical analysis can be helpful for identifying organ dysfunction, narrowing down the differential diagnostic list, and monitoring progress and response to treatment. This article details hematologic and biochemical tests that are important in the evaluati...
Hematology Red Flags: The Value of Blood Smear Examination in Horses. This article uses a case-based approach, complemented with diagnostic algorithms and images, to highlight hematologic changes of pathologic relevance in horses, namely, marked erythrocytosis, anemia or leukocytosis, inflammatory leukograms, lymphocytosis in adult horses, thrombocytopenia, and pancytopenia. These hematologic abnormalities occur with certain diseases and their identification can help clinicians narrow to down differential diagnostic lists. This article highlights the importance of blood smear examination, particularly, but not only, when numerical red flags are identified on aut...
Horses and zebras: probabilities, uncertainty, and cognitive bias in clinical diagnosis. Medical diagnosis is typically an iterative process guided by integration and synthesis of data into a model of disease. However, facts are not the only inputs into this process. A case of medical mis-diagnosis is presented, in which systematic cognitive bias is considered to have played a role in generating error. Specific cognitive biases are cited, and measures that can be taken to minimize their negative impact are reviewed.
Long-term outcome and effect of diagnostic analgesia in horses undergoing interspinous ligament desmotomy for overriding dorsal spinous processes. To report the long-term outcome of horses treated with interspinous ligament desmotomy (ISLD) for pain associated with overriding dorsal spinous processes (ORDSP) and determine the influence of preoperative diagnostic analgesia on long-term outcome. Methods: Retrospective study. Methods: Eighteen horses. Methods: Data were collected from horses presenting for ISLD to the University of Pennsylvania New Bolton Center between January 2013 and May 2018. Follow-up of ≥3 months postsurgically was obtained from the owner, trainer, or referring veterinarian. Long-term improvement was compared betw...
Treatment Efficiency of Combination Therapy With Diminazene Aceturate and Quinapyramine Sulfate in a Horse With Dourine. Dourine is a lethal protozoan disease of equids, and it is caused by Trypanosoma equiperdum infection via coitus. To date, treatment strategies against the dourine are not recommended because of the frequent relapses; therefore, the World Organisation for Animal Health recommends the stamping-out policy for the control of dourine. Our previous studies have revealed a number of horses with dourine in Mongolia that is the fifth largest horse-breeding country. It is difficult to apply the stamping-out policy for cases of dourine in Mongolia because of an inadequate livestock guarantee system. The...