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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.
The open reading frame ORF S3 of equine infectious anemia virus is expressed during the viral life cycle. The genome of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) contains several small open reading frames (ORFs), the importance of which in the development of the virus is not clear. We investigated the possibility that the largest of these ORFs (ORF S3) is expressed during the course of the viral infection. The ORF S3 information was expressed in Escherichia coli, and the antigen was used to raise monospecific antiserum. A 20-kDa protein expressed in cells producing EIAV was identified as the gene product of ORF S3. Furthermore, sera from EIAV-infected animals specifically recognized this protein, indi...
Bilateral arytenoid cartilage paralysis after inhalation anesthesia in a horse. An 8-year-old Quarter Horse gelding was anesthetized for surgical exploration and debridement of a chronic draining wound in the intermandibular space. Anesthesia was without complication other than persistently low PaO2. Severe airway obstruction was evident immediately after extubation, requiring tracheostomy. Endoscopic diagnosis was bilateral arytenoid paralysis, which gradually resolved over the next 7 days. Compression, trauma, or tension of the recurrent laryngeal nerves are the postulated causes of idiopathic laryngeal hemiplegia in horses. The extremely extended position of the head a...
An outbreak of the equine rhabdomyolysis syndrome in a racing yard. An outbreak of muscle stiffness and poor performance among 59 thoroughbreds at a Newmarket flat racing yard was investigated between the beginning of May and the end of June 1986. Over a third of the horses showed signs of muscular stiffness, and 38 had, at one or more of the sampling times, creatine kinase (CK) activities above 200 iu/litre and, or, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities above 300 iu/litre when they were sampled six to eight hours after exercise. The following season, at a similar time and stage of training, only four of 39 horses sampled had CK activities between 200 an...
Characterisation of compounds isolated from the sera of horses with acute grass sickness. Isolates were prepared from the sera of 12 horses with acute grass sickness, using methods reported to yield serum fractions associated with neurotoxicity, and their components identified by liquid chromatography and spectroscopy. All isolates were found to contain cortisol and six isolates also contained a degradation product of an analgesic drug, dipyrone. However, no recognised neurotoxin was detected.
Morphologic and ultrastructural evaluation of effect of ischemia and dimethyl sulfoxide on equine jejunum. Morphologic changes in equine jejunal segments subjected to 1 hour of ischemia and 1 hour of reperfusion, and protective effects of systemic administration of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO; 1 g/kg of body weight) were investigated in 18 ponies, using light microscopy and scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Ponies were allotted to 4 groups: group 1--control (n = 3); group 2--DMSO (n = 3); group 3--ischemia (n = 6); and group 4--ischemia and DMSO (n = 6). In each pony, 2 jejunal sections were evaluated. The first section was obtained prior to induction of ischemia, and the second was obtai...
A tracheoscopic technique for obtaining uncontaminated lower airway secretions for bacterial culture in the horse. Transtracheal aspirate (TTA) aerobic microbiology culture results from 30 ponies were compared to protected catheter brush (PCB) culture results obtained from the same ponies. The PCB procedure resulted in significantly fewer (13<0.05) isolates than those obtained by the TTA procedure and the PCB procedure resulted in significantly more samples with no bacteria growth than the TTA procedure. To address the possibility that the volume of tracheobronchial secretion obtained by PCB was insufficient as a microbiological sample, a sterile, double-sheathed, protected aspiration catheter (PAC) was...
Inflammatory components in uterine fluid from mares with experimentally induced bacterial endometritis. Exudate and uterine flushings were collected at either 30, 60, 120 or 240 mins after intrauterine infusions of Streptococcus zooepidemicus in genitally normal mares during oestrus. Uteri were also flushed without prior induction of endometritis. Protein concentrations in exudate and flushings increased with time and exudate pH decreased with time; the pH of flushings did not alter. Lysozyme and lactate dehydrogenase were present in flushings from non-infected uteri, but concentrations increased with time after infection. Immunoreactive prostaglandin E2 was undetectable before infection, but co...
Influence of head posture on the respiratory tract of healthy horses. Twenty four normal, confined mares were unable to lower their heads for 24 or 48 h. In 21 mares this resulted in increases in the proportion of neutrophils and/or numbers of bacteria in transtracheal aspirates. In eight mares the changes in tracheal washes were accompanied by clinical evidence of mild respiratory disease. In three additional cases respiratory signs were accompanied by systemic illness. These changes reversed once the mares were able to lower their heads. Haematological changes (absolute neutrophilia and/or hyperfibrinogenamia) were mild and occurred more commonly in horses res...
An investigation of the second heart sound in the normal horse. The second heart sound was evaluated in conscious, normal horses using intracardiac and external sound detection devices and echocardiography. The second heart sound (S2) in the normal horse is single or split by a narrow interval, not usually detected by external phonocardiographic evaluation. Splitting of S2 was classified as normal (aortic [A2] preceding pulmonic [P2] components) in 66.7 per cent and reversed (P2 preceding A2) in 33.3 per cent of the horses studied. Normal splitting appears to result from lower impedance of the pulmonary vasculature delaying the onset of P2. Reverse splitti...
Mediastinal squamous cell carcinoma and thyroid carcinoma in an aged horse. A mediastinal squamous cell carcinoma and thyroid carcinoma were found in an aged horse. Clinical signs consisted of bilateral thyroid gland enlargement, chronic cough, and mild respiratory distress. The neoplasms were not treated. Squamous cell carcinoma is a common neoplasm in horses, but not in the cranial portion of the mediastinum. Thyroid carcinomas in horses are uncommon. This combination of neoplasms is rare and may have been associated with a defect in the immune system.
Scintigraphic evaluation of digital circulation during the developmental and acute phases of equine laminitis. Scintigraphy was used to evaluate digital circulation at 24 h intervals in 11 control horses and in nine horses affected with acute laminitis created by administration of a high-starch ration. Following intra-arterial injection of technetium-99m macroaggregated albumin into the brachiocephalic trunk, static images were acquired of the right front foot. Dynamic radionuclide angiograms and static blood pool images were also obtained after jugular vein injection of technetium-99m diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid. These procedures were performed on standing horses, using either minimal or no tr...
Immunocytochemical demonstration of proopiomelanocortin-derived peptides in pituitary adenomas of the pars intermedia in horses. Adenomas of the pars intermedia from 19 horses and normal pituitary glands from seven horses were evaluated histologically and immunocytochemically for adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH), beta-endorphin (beta-END), proopiomelanocortin (POMC), prolactin, neuron specific enolase, and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). The 26 horses ranged in age from 7 to 31 years. Histologically, all adenomas had a uniform pattern characterized by cords of large columnar cells forming palisades and pseudoacini separated by a delicate fibrovascular stroma. I...
A comparison of inulin, para-aminohippuric acid, and endogenous creatinine clearances as measures of renal function in neonatal foals. The glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was estimated in eight full-term neonatal foals by the single injection inulin plasma clearance method at two days of age, the continuous infusion plasma and urinary clearance methods at three days of age, and the 12-hour endogenous creatinine clearance method at four days of age. The effective renal plasma flow (ERPF) was estimated simultaneously by the single injection para-aminohippuric acid (PAH) plasma clearance method in the eight two-day old foals and the continuous PAH infusion plasma and urinary clearance method in the eight three-day old foals. Th...
A method of assessing auditory and brainstem function in horses. Brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP) waveforms were recorded as a means of objectively evaluating auditory and brainstem function in horses. BAEP recordings were readily and repeatably recorded from horses, under minimal restraint, using signal averaging equipment. Clearly identified BAEP waveforms were obtained with compression clicks of 30-100 dB (HHL) at 10 Hz applied in the external auditory meatus of one ear and masking white noise (10 dB lower) in the other ear. Vertex positive (upwards) waveforms I through V were obtained with an active, subdermal electrode over the ipsilateral an...
Effects of five hours of constant 1.2 MAC halothane in sternally recumbent, spontaneously breathing horses. Circulatory and respiratory effects of five h of constant 1.06 per cent alveolar halothane in oxygen were identified in eight healthy horses, which breathed spontaneously, were otherwise unmedicated and positioned in sternal recumbency. Only a few important significant (P less than 0.05) changes occurred with time. Total peripheral resistance was about 15 per cent lower after two hours of constant dose halothane than after 30 mins of constant dose (P less than 0.05) and accounted for the significant 10 per cent reduction in mean carotid arterial blood pressure. By 5 h, the reduction in resista...
Displacement of the large colon associated with nonsurgical correction of large-colon entrapment in the renosplenic space in a mare. Nonsurgical correction of a renosplenic entrapment of the large colon was attempted in a mare, using a rolling technique. After correction, the mare had initial improvement in clinical signs, but later developed signs of abdominal discomfort. A ventral midline celiotomy was performed, and a pelvic flexure impaction and large intestinal volvulus were found and corrected.
Vascular injury associated with naturally occurring strangulating obstructions of the equine large colon. Ten horses were euthanatized before, during, or after surgery to correct severe volvulus of the large colon. At surgery, the colonic serosa changed from blue-gray, blue or purple toward a more normal pink in seven horses after the volvulus was corrected. The mucosa consistently remained black or dark red. Results of postmortem colonic microangiography revealed perfusion of the serosa and the circular and longitudinal muscle layers, but mucosal perfusion was limited by thrombosis in the muscularis mucosae and submucosa. There was evidence of thrombosis of the mesenteric colic vessels in six hor...
Pleural effusion secondary to thoracic metastatic mammary adenocarcinoma in a mare. A 17-year-old Quarter Horse mare was examined nearly 3 years after excision and cryotherapy of a papillary mammary gland adenocarcinoma. The mare had been used for pleasure riding since surgery, but had recently developed progressive dyspnea. The mare had clinical evidence of pleural effusion, but died before further clinical examination and treatment were instituted. Necropsy revealed deep mammary masses with similar nodules in the deep inguinal, renal, and mediastinal lymph nodes and in the lungs, pericardium, visceral and parietal pleurae, and left ovary. The masses were identified as papil...
Distribution of equine infectious anemia in equids in southeastern United States. State veterinarians in 11 southeastern states completed a questionnaire designed to determine the proportion of equids in the region that were seropositive for equine infectious anemia (EIA). Cases of EIA were diagnosed in each of the states surveyed. Distinct geographic clusters of cases were apparent in Tennessee and Kentucky adjacent to the Mississippi River, in the Piedmont of North Carolina at the Virginia border, in north central Georgia, and throughout the Florida peninsula. It is suggested that the national EIA program could be improved by standardization and wider application of unifo...
Granulosa cell tumor in a mare with a functional contralateral ovary. A functional corpus luteum was found in the ovary contralateral to the ovary with a granulosa cell tumor in a 24-year-old Standardbred mare. The mare was ovariectomized because she was to be used as a jump mare for collection of semen from stallions. The blood concentration of progesterone was 2.2 ng/ml, and the luteal tissue progesterone concentration was 6.3 micrograms/mg. Atrophy of the contralateral ovary is one of the major signs used in diagnosis of granulosa cell tumor; however, our findings indicate that the ovary contralateral to a granulosa cell tumor is not invariably nonfunctional....
Idiopathic granulomatous disease involving the skin in a horse. Clinical signs of generalized granulomatous disease in a horse included depression, generalized lymphadenopathy, scaly skin, and dependent edema. Diagnosis was confirmed histopathologically by diffuse granulomas in more than one organ system (lymph nodes and skin), and by ruling out etiologic agents. Response to treatment with corticosteroids was favorable. The clinical features and response to treatment in this horse were different from classic textbook descriptions of equine generalized granulomatous disease. Equine granulomatous disease appears to be comparable to human sarcoidosis. To avoi...
Septicemia, atrial fibrillation, cardiomegaly, left atrial mass, and Rhodococcus equi septic osteoarthritis in a foal. A foal with vegetative bacterial endocarditis affecting the wall of the left atrium was treated successfully with cefotaxime, erythromycin, and rifampin. Bacterial isolates included Escherichia coli from blood and Rhodococcus equi from a P-type osteomyelitic lesion of the left third metatarsal bone and from synovial fluid from the left metatarsophalangeal joint. Cardiac complications included cardiomegaly and atrial fibrillation, which responded to treatment with digoxin and quinidine sulfate. Cardiac function was considered normal 18 months after treatment. Bacteriologic cure of osteoarthriti...
Cardiac arrhythmias identified in horses with duodenitis/proximal jejunitis: six cases (1985-1988). During a 3 1/2-year period, cardiac arrhythmias were identified in 6 of 67 horses diagnosed with duodenitis/proximal jejunitis (DPJ). Arrhythmias were detected by auscultation of irregular cardiac rhythm and subsequently were characterized by electrocardiographic evaluation. Arrhythmias included frequent second-degree atrioventricular block, ventricular ectopic depolarizations, and atrioventricular conduction disturbance. In 4 horses, arrhythmias resolved with recovery from the primary problem. One horse died suddenly 66 hours after admission, and another was euthanatized at 72 hours after adm...
Hyperkalemic periodic paralysis in horses. Eleven horses (3 mares, 7 stallions, 1 gelding) with clinical and biochemical evidence of hyperkalemic periodic paralysis were studied. Each horse had history of episodic weakness, muscular tremors, or collapse, which lasted for periods of a few minutes to hours. Diagnosis was based on hyperkalemia in association with a spontaneous episode of paralysis or by precipitation of an episode by oral administration of potassium chloride. Clinical and biochemical events were documented during spontaneous and induced episodes of muscular weakness. During episodes, electrocardiographic findings were con...
Confirmation by Doppler echocardiography of valvular regurgitation in a horse with a ruptured chorda tendinea of the mitral valve. Regurgitation of blood through the left atrioventricular valve owing to the rupture of one of the chordae tendineae of the valve was diagnosed in a horse with sudden-onset respiratory distress and a holosystolic cardiac murmur. Severe regurgitation was confirmed with Doppler echocardiography and prolapse of part of the valve leaflet was identified with B-mode ultrasonography. The rupture of one of the chordae tendineae of a right accessory cusp of the left atrioventricular valve was confirmed post mortem. Bronchiolitis, multifocal haemorrhages and haemorrhagic fibrous plaques were found in the...
