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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.
Equine intravenous glucose tolerance test: glucose and insulin responses of healthy horses fed grain or hay and of horses with pituitary adenoma. Intravenous glucose tolerance testing (0.5 g/kg of body weight) was done on 2 groups of healthy horses maintained with hay (group 1, n = 5) and with hay plus grain supplementation (group 2, n = 5) and on a group of horses with clinically diagnosed pituitary adenoma (group 3, n = 10). Healthy horses showed an immediate increase of plasma glucose concentration after the IV glucose injection, with return of values to base line in 1 hour. Group 3 horses showed resting hyperglycemia and a delayed return of glucose values to base line (3 hours). Group 3 horses showed resting hyperinsulinemia and a f...
Histologic findings in the gastrointestinal tract of horses with colic. Thirty horses were admitted to the University of Georgia Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital with colic severe enough to warrant surgery and/or euthanasia. Gastrointestinal tracts of these 30 horses were histologically examined for morphologic changes. The horses were grouped according to cause of the colic (ie, simple obstruction, strangulation obstruction, thromboemboli, and inflammation). Lesions were graded as to severity, and grade scores were correlated with survival or nonsurvival. Mucosal changes developed distal and proximal to the primary lesion site and, although there were some di...
Glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in ponies and Standardbred horses. The existence of an innate insulin insensitivity in ponies was investigated and compared with the situation in larger breeds of horse. Ponies that were fat or had previously suffered laminitis were found to be far more intolerant to oral glucose loading (1 g/kg bodyweight [bwt]) than normal ponies or Standardbreds. These ponies also exhibited a far greater response in plasma insulin levels after glucose loading. Insulin response tests (0.4 iu/kg bwt insulin intravenously) showed only a minimal and very protracted response in both the fat and laminitic groups. The relevance of these findings in...
Relationship between spinal biomechanics and pathological changes in the equine thoracolumbar spine. The relationship between spinal biomechanics and pathological changes occurring in functionally normal equine thoracolumbar spines was studied in 23 horses. Ventrolateral vertebral body osteophytes occurred in 36 per cent of the spines. The majority occurred between the 10th and 17th thoracic vertebrae with the largest being found between the 11th and 13th thoracic vertebrae, the region of the thoracic spine where the greatest amount of lateral bending and axial rotation occurs. Impingement of the dorsal spinous processes was detected in 86 per cent of the spines with most lesions occurring be...
Airway responses to aerosolized methacholine and citric acid in ponies with recurrent airway obstruction (heaves). We measured lung function and airway reactivity in response to methacholine and citric acid administered by aerosol in 2 groups of ponies (principal and control). Principal ponies had a history of heaves, a disease characterized by recurrent airway obstruction. Control ponies had no history of respiratory disease. Both principal and control ponies were paired (principal and control), and measurements were made when principal ponies were in clinical remission (Period A), following barn exposure when principal ponies had acute airway obstruction (Period B), and 1 and 2 wk after they were returne...
Comparison of two techniques for quantitation of encysted cyathostome larvae in the horse. Haustral portions of intestine of 6 horses were isolated by excising the taeniae coli from the cecum and the ventral colon. Uniform 5-cm X 5-cm sections were cut from the haustra and were illuminated from the serosal side with a strong light source (mural transillumination). Cyathostome larvae encysted in the mucosa and submucosa were observed at 15 X magnification and counted. Two separate counts of the larvae in 80 replicates of tissue by the mural transillumination technique (MTT) revealed no significant (P less than 0.05) difference between sample means. Larvae in tissue sections were coun...
Pulmonary lobar hypertrophy in a foal. Pulmonary lobar hypertrophy was diagnosed in a 4-hour-old Quarter Horse full-term foal that had respiratory arrest shortly after birth. The gross and microscopic appearances were consistent with polyalveolar lobe, a congenital anomaly of human infants.
The sympatho-adrenal system and plasma levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone, cortisol and catecholamines in equine grass sickness. Plasma levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), cortisol and catecholamines were used to study the role of the sympatho-adrenal system in equine grass sickness. Statistical evaluation determined differences of hormone levels between seven horses with grass sickness (one acute, five subacute and one chronic), six horses with colic (one with laminitis) and 16 control horses before and after mild stress. Plasma levels of the hormones were higher in horses with acute and subacute grass sickness than in the other groups. No differences were detected between horses with colic and stressed contr...
American dog tick (Acari: Ixodidae), summer activity on equine premises enzootic for Potomac horse fever in south-central Maryland. The American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis (Say), was the only ixodid tick found feeding on horses in Montgomery County, Md., from May to August. Average tick burdens were low (less than one tick per horse per week), but >80% of 33 horses examined weekly were exposed to tick feeding during the summer. Of the 98 ticks collected, 78% were attached to the tail and 12% were present in the mane. Host-seeking adult D. variabilis were active on vegetation in pastures from May to early August, with most specimens along hedgerows, woods margins, and horse paths.
Exercised-induced pulmonary hemorrhage in polo and racing horses. Philippine polo and racing horses were examined for exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage after their competitive exercise. Exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage occurred in 11.1% of the polo horses and 64% of the racing horses. None of the horses had blood at the nostrils.
Detection of antibodies to Mycoplasma felis in horses. Mycoplasma felis has been isolated from horses with pleuritis, and limited research indicates that mycoplasma pleuritis can be reproduced in horses. The serodiagnostic potential of the indirect hemagglutination and the metabolism-inhibition tests was evaluated by testing 177 horses for antibodies to M felis. Seven horses with M felis pleuritis developed antibodies, and 6 horses with sterile or bacterial pleuritis had high titers suggesting a previous M felis infection. Six horses with pleuritis (one sterile and five bacterial) had low or no titers to M felis. Only one of 30 horses with conditi...
Periorbital skull fractures in five horses. Periorbital skull fractures were diagnosed in 5 horses, and were associated with ophthalmic complications including corneal ulceration, uveitis, and entrapment of the eye by retrobulbar bone fragments. Physical examination was of greater diagnostic use than radiography. Surgical repair was performed on all horses and was associated with a more favorable postoperative appearance in horses treated acutely; however, the cosmetic results were considered acceptable in all horses. Major postoperative complications were not observed.
Effects of lateral recumbency on regional lung function in anesthetized horses. Six horses were anesthetized and placed in lateral recumbency for 1 hour and then were turned to the opposite side for an additional hour. A short-lived radioactive gas, 81mKr, was used to determine the relative spatial distribution of ventilation (V) and perfusion (Q) in these horses. Effects of time, side down, and turning on the distribution were evaluated. A consistent gradient of V/Q was found at all times, with the highest V/Q values at the top (non-dependent) portion of the lung field and the lowest at the bottom (dependent). This gradient was also present within each lung, as well as b...
Malignant melanoma of the coronary band in a horse. A malignant melanoma developed in the digit of a horse. Metastasis was extensive.
Iron deficiency and pseudo-iron deficiency in hospitalized horses. Values for serum ferritin, serum iron, and serum total-iron binding capacity were determined in 100 hospitalized horses. Six foals had iron deficiency, as indicated by low serum ferritin and iron concentrations. Twenty-eight horses had low serum iron content and normal or high serum ferritin content and were considered to have pseudo-iron deficiency, possibly in response to infection. Ten horses had serum ferritin concentrations that were quite high, probably indicating iron overload.
Eikenella corrodens osteomyelitis of the axis in a foal. Eikenella corrodens, a previously unrecognized pathogen in the horse, was isolated from the spinous process of the axis of a colt with signs of severe neck pain. Dorsal laminectomy (excising the infected spinous process and lamina) was performed and the colt was treated with antibiotics for 6 weeks. Recovery was uncomplicated.
Indolent-like corneal ulcers in 3 horses. Three horses were admitted with indolent-like corneal ulcers. All horses were treated topically with antibiotics. Two horses had ulcers with redundant epithelial borders, which were debrided with cotton-tipped applicators after topical anesthesia was induced. One ulcer healed after 2 debridements. Of 2 horses treated surgically, one had complications.
Continuous-flow centrifugation hemapheresis in the horse. In a continuous-flow centrifugation apheresis technique adapted for blood-component separation and collection in horses, hydroxyethyl starch was not required for erythrocyte sedimentation. The efficacy and separation characteristics of whole blood from 10 horses were evaluated at various gravitational forces (700 to 1,500 rpm), using a constant withdrawal rate (100 ml/min). Maximum leukocyte collection occurred at 700 rpm (P less than 0.01), and optimal neutrophil collection occurred at 700 to 750 rpm (P less than 0.01). Although neutrophil counts decreased and lymphocyte counts remained const...
Osteopetrosis in two foals. This account describes two neonatal foals affected with osteopetrosis. One of these foals, a full term Peruvian Paso, was born alive, was bright and alert but was unable to stand and was euthanized at two days of age. The second foal, an Appaloosa, was also born alive at full term and was blind, weak, uncoordinated and unable to stand. Postmortem examination of both foals revealed generalized osteopetrosis and brachygnathia inferior. The osteopetrosis was characterized by failure of bone remodelling resulting in spicules of mineralized and nonmineralized cartilage covered by osteoid occupying ...
Risk factors for salmonellosis in hospitalized horses. A case-control study to identify risk factors associated with isolation of Salmonella was accomplished, using data from records of horses hospitalized in the period July 1971 through June 1982. Horses in which nasogastric tubes were passed were at 2.9 times greater risk of having Salmonella isolated, compared with horses that did not undergo this procedure. Horses treated with antibiotics parenterally were at 6.4 times greater risk, and those treated with antibiotics orally and parenterally were at 40.4 times greater risk of developing salmonellosis, compared with horses not receiving such tre...
Tissue-invading ciliates associated with chronic colitis in a horse. Ciliates resembling Polymorphella ampulla (Dogiel, 1929) were found in large numbers in the crypts and lamina propria of the caecum and colon of a one-year-old Thoroughbred gelding that had shown recurring bouts of chronic diarrhoea and weight loss over a 5-month period. A heavy burden of helminths, mainly cyathostomes (trichonemes) was present at post-mortem examination and no significant bacterial pathogens were recovered. It was considered that the Polymorphella (which is normally a commensal organism) had in this case assumed a secondary pathogenic role.
An outbreak of suspected equine infectious anaemia in Guyana. An outbreak of suspected equine infectious anaemia (EIA) among a population of 678 horses from 16 farms occurred in the Rupununi Savannahs of Guyana. Clinical signs of EIA were detected in 110 horses. Agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) tests on 92 sera examined showed positive serological evidence of EIA in 67 (72·8%). The mean packed cell volume of 50 horses studied was 0·178
and the mean red blood cell count was 3·7 × 1012/l with the mean white blood cell count 4·1 × 109/l.
The morbidity rate of the disease was 14·0% and the mortality rate 11·1%. The majority (78%) of all seroposi...
Joint report of the Third International Workshop on Lymphocyte Alloantigens of the Horse, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, 25-27 April 1984. The Third International Workshop on Lymphocyte Alloantigens of the Horse was held on 25-27 April 1984 in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Twelve laboratories from five countries participated. The principal purpose of this Workshop was to determine the phenotypic and gene frequencies of the 10 equine lymphocyte antigens (ELA) and a non-ELA lymphocyte antigen, ELY-2.1, in several breeds of horse. A total of 86 alloantisera characterized in previous workshops were tested against lymphocytes from 1179 horses. In addition, several experimental antisera were also tested against the same panel of lympho...
