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Topic:Diagnosis
Diagnosis in horses involves the systematic identification of diseases and conditions affecting equine health. This process relies on a combination of clinical evaluations, laboratory tests, imaging techniques, and other diagnostic tools to assess the health status of horses. Veterinarians utilize these methods to identify symptoms, determine the underlying causes of health issues, and formulate appropriate treatment plans. Diagnostic procedures in equine medicine can include blood tests, ultrasound, radiography, endoscopy, and more specialized tests such as genetic screening or advanced imaging modalities like MRI and CT scans. This page aggregates peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore various diagnostic techniques, their applications, and advancements in the field of equine veterinary medicine.
On the Description of Equine Somatic Growth Using Nonlinear Functions. A better knowledge of the growth of horses can facilitate sounder intervention in their health control, nutrition and management. This study compared five growth functions with either diminishing returns (monomolecular and Michaelis-Menten) or asymptotic sigmoidal (Gompertz, Richards and Lopez) behavior for describing the growth curves of horses, based on the relationship between a given somatic growth trait (body weight, withers height, or body weight to withers height ratio) and age. Data used in this study were those available in the literature for quarter horse males and thoroughbred foals...
Advances in the Diagnosis of Equine Respiratory Diseases: A Review of Novel Imaging and Functional Techniques. The horse, as a flight animal with a survival strategy involving rapid escape from predators, is a natural-born athlete with enormous functional plasticity of the respiratory system. Any respiratory dysfunction can cause a decline in ventilation and gas exchange. Therefore, respiratory diseases often lead to exercise intolerance and poor performance. This is one of the most frequent problems encountered by equine internists. Routine techniques used to evaluate respiratory tract diseases include clinical examination, endoscopic examination, radiographic and ultrasonographic imaging, cytological...
Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429): antimicrobial-resistant Rhodococcus equi in horses. () was identified among the most relevant antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria in the EU for horses in a previous scientific opinion. Thus, it has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on its eligibility to be listed, Annex IV for its categorisation according to disease prevention and control rules as in Article 9 and Article 8 for listing animal species related to the bacterium. The assessment has been performed following a methodology previously published. The outcome is the med...
Ecological niche modeling predicting the potential distribution of African horse sickness virus from 2020 to 2060. African horse sickness is a vector-borne, non-contagious and highly infectious disease of equines caused by African horse sickness viruses (AHSv) that mainly affect horses. The occurrence of the disease causes huge economic impacts because of its high fatality rate, trade ban and disease control costs. In the planning of vectors and vector-borne diseases like AHS, the application of Ecological niche models (ENM) used an enormous contribution in precisely delineating the suitable habitats of the vector. We developed an ENM to delineate the global suitability of AHSv based on retrospective out...
Agreement of High-Definition Oscillometry (HDO) and Invasive Blood Pressure Measurements at a Metatarsal Artery in Isoflurane-Anaesthetised Horses. High-definition oscillometry (HDO) over the metatarsal artery (MA) in anaesthetised horses has not yet been evaluated. This study aimed to assess agreement between HDO and invasive blood pressure (IBP) at the metatarsal artery, and to evaluate compliance with the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) consensus guidelines. In this experimental study, 11 horses underwent general anaesthesia for an unrelated, terminal surgical trial. Instrumentation included an IBP catheter in one and an HDO cuff placed over the contralateral MA, as well as thermodilution catheters. Systolic ar...
First reported case of fragile foal syndrome type 1 in the Thoroughbred caused by PLOD1 c.2032G>A. Warmblood Fragile Foal Syndrome Type 1 (WFFS) is an autosomal recessive disorder reported previously only in warmbloods and thought to be caused by a variant in the gene procollagen-lysine,2-oxoglutarate 5-dioxygenase 1 (PLOD1, c.2032G>A, p.Gly678Arg). Given the presentation of this Thoroughbred case, we hypothesised that a similar genetic mechanism caused this phenotype. Objective: To describe the pathological and genetic findings on a foal presenting to a veterinary practice in the UK with skin lesions similar to other Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes, including those documented for warmbloods with W...
The failure mode of a mechanically loaded equine medial femoral condyle analog with a void and the impact of lag and neutral screw placement. To determine the failure method of simulated equine medial femoral condyle (MFC) subchondral bone defects under compression and the influence of screw placement on failure resistance. Methods: In vitro study. Methods: Composite disks (CD) simulating the moduli of yearling bone in the MFC. Methods: Four CD conditions were tested, all with a 12.7 mm void (n = 6 per condition): intact (no void), void only, void with a 4.5 mm screw placed in neutral fashion, and void with a 4.5 mm screw placed in lag fashion. Composite disks of each condition were tested under monotonic compression to 6000...
Equine Encephalosis Virus. Equine encephalosis (EE) is an arthropod-borne, noncontagious, febrile disease of horses. It is caused by EE virus (EEV), an Orbivirus of the Reoviridae family transmitted by Culicoides. Within the EEV serogroup, seven serotypes (EEV-1-7) have been identified to date. This virus was first isolated from a horse in South Africa in 1967 and until 2008 was believed to be restricted to southern Africa. In 2008-2009, isolation of EEV in an outbreak reported from Israel demonstrated the emergence of this pathogen into new niches. Indeed, testing in retrospect sera samples revealed that EEV had alread...
Therapeutic Potential of Metabolites from Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Mare’s Milk in the Treatment of Dysbiosis. Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease that forms ulcerations in the mucous membrane of the colon and rectum, in which gut microbiota plays a pivotal role in its pathogenesis. Agents modulating microbial dysbiosis caused by colitis can help in the remission of this disease. The current study describes the potential therapeutic effects of active metabolites from Lactobacillus rhamnosus and mare's milk which have potential therapeutic values on the intestinal microbiota and proinflammatory cytokines. The analysis of the V1-V3 16S rDNA site revealed significant changes in the intesti...
Short-Term Effects of Temperature and Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone Stimulation on Adrenocorticotropin Stability in Horses. Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) is diagnosed by increased basal or post thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) stimulation ACTH concentrations. ACTH is known to be unstable; however, the effect of different temperatures and TRH stimulation on equine ACTH stability is poorly described. In total, 15 horses, including 8 PPID positive (ACTH > 35 pg/mL at baseline or >65 pg/mL 30 min after TRH stimulation), were divided into 2 groups: 9, including 5 PPID positive, with basal ACTH concentrations and 6, including 3 PPID positive, with post TRH stimulation ACTH concentrations. Whole bl...
Peritoneal fluid analysis in equine post-partum emergencies admitted to a referral hospital: A retrospective study of 110 cases. Peritoneal fluid analysis has both diagnostic and prognostic value in colic but is little reported in the post-partum mare. Multiple conditions may present similarly in this period, and peritoneal fluid findings may aid a prompt diagnosis. Objective: To describe the peritoneal fluid findings and their association with diagnosis in mares presenting to a single referral hospital for treatment of post-partum emergencies. Methods: A retrospective clinical study. Methods: Clinical records of 110 Thoroughbred mares were reviewed. Details of peritoneal fluid analysis from samples obtained at admissio...
The Gingiva of Horses With Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction: A Macroscopic Anatomical Evaluation. Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) is a common neurodegenerative disease mainly in horses older than 15 years. The domestic equine population is following the same demographic change as that seen in humans; it is aging and veterinarians are asked to attend to geriatric horses more frequently. Common problems seen regularly in older equines are dental disorders and especially periodontal disease. As a systemic and endocrine disease, associated with delayed wound healing and impaired immune function, PPID should be considered before major dental treatment in aged equines is started. Po...
First phalanx exostosis in traditional equestrian horses in Western Libya. Orthopedic diseases involving the forelimb fetlock joint of horses other than those used in professional racing have not been widely reported in the literature. One of these problems is the exostosis on the proximal forelimb phalanx (P1), which has not been reported previously in Western Libya. The study aimed to investigate the prevalence of P1 exostosis in traditional equestrian horses (known locally as Sarj horses) of different breeds in Libya that participated in a special social event and described its clinical findings radiographic appearance. The current study involved 60 horses admitte...
Identification of processed pseudogenes in the genome of Thoroughbred horses: Possibility of gene-doping detection considering the presence of pseudogenes. Processed pseudogenes, also known as retrocopy genes, are copies of messenger RNAs that have been reverse transcribed into DNA and inserted into the genome. In this study, we identified 62 processed pseudogene candidates as intron-less genes from whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data of Thoroughbred horses using delly structural variation software. The 62 processed pseudogene candidates were confirmed by PCR amplification of intron-less products. A total of 11 processed pseudogenes were confirmed in the genome of all 23 analysed horses, whereas three processed pseudogenes with structures of ATP11...
Development of a microsphere-based immunoassay for the serological diagnosis of equine trypanosomosis. Trypanozoon infections in equids are caused by three parasite species in the Trypanozoon subgenus: Trypanosoma equiperdum, T. brucei and T. evansi. They are respectively responsible for infectious diseases dourine, nagana and surra. Due to the threat that Trypanozoon infection represents for international horse trading, accurate diagnostic tests are crucial. Current tests suffer from poor sensitivity and specificity, due in the first case to the transient presence of parasites in the blood and in the second, to antigenic cross-reactivity among Trypanozoon subspecies. This study was designed to...
Lethal foal syndrome affects thoroughbreds too. For the first time researchers have confirmed a case of fragile foal syndrome in a non-warmblood horse. Georgina Mills reports.
Equine Proliferative Enteropathy in Weanling Foals on A German Breeding Farm: Clinical Course, Treatment and Long-Term Outcome. The goal of the current report was to describe the clinical signs, therapy and outcome of foals with suspected equine proliferative enteropathy (EPE) due to an infection with Lawsonia intracellularis. Forty foals, born on the same breeding farm, were diagnosed with suspected clinical EPE between September 2019 and January 2020. Data of these cases were analyzed retrospectively regarding the course of the disease, treatment, outcome and long-term prognosis. All horses, including randomly selected control horses, were reassessed about nine months after the suspicion of EPE. The horses affected w...
Clostridioides difficile infection and One Health: an equine perspective. Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile presents a significant health risk to humans and animals. The complexity of the bacterial-host interaction affecting pathogenesis and disease development creates an ongoing challenge for epidemiological studies, control strategies and prevention planning. The recent emergence of human disease caused by strains of C. difficile found in animals adds to mounting evidence that C. difficile infection (CDI) may be a zoonosis. In equine populations, C. difficile is a known cause of diarrhoea and gastrointestinal inflammation, with considerable mortality and morb...
Effects of age, disease and anastomosis on short- and long-term survival after surgical correction of small intestinal strangulating diseases in 89 horses. Although survival rates have been reported after small intestinal surgery for strangulating diseases in horses, none have followed survival for periods relevant to the long lifespan of horses and none have described effect of age, disease and surgical treatments over such long survival periods. Objective: To examine effects of age, disease and type of surgery on long-term survival in horses after surgical treatment of small intestinal strangulating diseases over periods relevant to the expected lifespan of a horse. Methods: Retrospective clinical study. Methods: Post-operative data were gather...
Dynamic three-dimensional computed tomographic imaging facilitates evaluation of the equine cervical articular process joint in motion. Dynamic computed tomography (CT) imaging has been introduced in human orthopaedics and is continuing to gain popularity. With dynamic CT, video sequences of anatomical structures can be evaluated in motion. Objective: To investigate the feasibility of dynamic CT for diagnostic imaging of the equine cervical articular process joints (APJs) and to give a detailed description of the APJ movement pattern. Methods: Descriptive cadaver imaging. Methods: Cervical specimens of twelve Warmblood horses were included. A custom-made motorised testing device was used to position and manipulate the neck spe...
Racing-associated fatalities in Norwegian and Swedish harness racehorses: Incidence rates, risk factors, and principal postmortem findings. There are no reports on the number of fatalities or causes of death in the Norwegian and Swedish harness racehorses. Objective: The incidence rates (IRs), risk factors, and postmortem findings in horses that died or were euthanized associated with racing between 2014 and 2019 were investigated. Methods: Thirty-eight Standardbreds and 10 Norwegian-Swedish Coldblooded Trotters died or were euthanized associated with racing. A total of 816 085 race-starts were recorded. Methods: Incidence rates were calculated for both countries and horse breeds. Risk factors for sudden death were identified us...
Genome-Wide Association Analyses of Osteochondrosis in Belgian Warmbloods Reveal Candidate Genes Associated With Chondrocyte Development. Osteochondrosis (OC) is an important skeletal disease causing profound welfare concerns in horses. Although numerous studies have explored the genetics underlying OC in various breeds, the Belgian Warmblood (BW) remains unstudied despite having a concerning prevalence of 32.0%. As a result, this study aimed to conduct genome-wide association (GWA) analyses to identify candidate variants associated with OC in BWs. To achieve this, blood samples and radiographs were collected from 407 Belgian Warmbloods registered to one of two BW studbooks (Belgisch Warmbloedpaard and Zangersheide), and genotyp...
Use of the SpO2/FiO2 Diagram to Assess Gas Exchange in Horses Under General Anaesthesia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity of the SpO/FiO diagram in estimating gas exchange in horses under general anaesthesia. In this prospective, controlled clinical study were included 10 horses under general anaesthesia. FiO was progressively reduced with the following steps: 0.6, 0.4, 0.3 and 0.21; SpO was recorded at each step. An arterial blood sample was collected at the steps of 1.0 and 0.21, to calculate intrapulmonary shunt with the Fshunt formula. The Fshunt value calculated at 0.21 FiO was defined as "Fshunt 0.21", the one calculated at 1.0 FiO as "Fshunt 1.0". The FiO ...
Echocardiographic Findings of a Donkey (Equus asinus) Jenny with Suspected Mitral Valve Dysplasia. Reports of ante-mortem diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases in donkeys (Equus asinus) are rare. This case report describes the echocardiographic findings of suspected mitral valve dysplasia in a 3-year-old Nevisian donkey jenny presented for evaluation of a grade III/VI left-sided systolic murmur. Pertinent findings on transthoracic echocardiography included double mitral regurgitant jets and a bridge of tissue between the septal and mural mitral leaflets. Based upon the mild degree of cardiac remodeling and absence of clinical signs, therapeutic intervention was deemed unnecessary, and the je...
Interpreting abdominal fluid in colic horses: Understanding and applying peritoneal fluid evidence. Interpreting changes in peritoneal fluid helps clinicians manage colic and other diseases in horses. During abdominal problems in the horse, abdominal fluid characteristics such as color, turbidity, total nucleated and red blood cell counts, cytology, total protein, and l-lactate change in predictable ways, helping the clinician characterize the disease. Methods: Normal abdominal fluid in horses is odorless, clear to light yellow in color, and transparent. Peritoneal fluid becomes more turbid with increasing levels of protein, number of WBCs or RBCs, or with gross contamination following intes...
Collection and administration of blood products in horses: Transfusion indications, materials, methods, complications, donor selection, and blood testing. Blood transfusion is a lifesaving treatment for horses with acute hemorrhage and other causes of anemia. Transfusions improve oxygen delivery to the tissues via increased blood volume and hemoglobin concentration. Certain aspects of equine blood transfusion are challenging, especially in the field situation, and practitioners may be unfamiliar or feel overwhelmed with the process. An understanding of the indications, materials, methods, and techniques as well as donor selection and possible complications will help practitioners successfully implement blood transfusion in clinical practice. Met...
Direct sequence confirmation of qPCR products for gene doping assay validation in horses. The misuse of gene therapy by the introduction of transgenes via plasmid or viral vectors as a doping agent is an increasing concern in human and animal sports, not only in consideration to fair competition but also in potential detrimental effects to welfare. Doping events can be detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of a transgene-specific region of DNA. Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) is particularly suited to confirmatory investigations where precise limits of detection can be calculated. To fully validate a qPCR experiment, it is highly desirable to confirm the ident...
Abdominocentesis techniques in horses. Abdominocentesis is commonly used to evaluate the abdominal cavity of the horse. This technique provides valuable diagnostic information as well as the means to monitor patients with abdominal diseases being managed medically and to determine their need for surgical management. Complications are uncommon and include trauma to the gastrointestinal tract or spleen, septic peritonitis, or abdominal wall infection. Methods: This review describes the indications, utility, patient preparation, and instructions for performing abdominocentesis as well as possible complications reported in horses. Step...
