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.
Association between fungal detection, airways inflammation and diagnosis of moderate to severe asthma in horses. Fungi are ubiquitous in horses' environment. Their contribution to the pathophysiology of severe asthma (SA) is acknowledged, while controversies remain for mild-moderate asthma (MA). Objective: We hypothesised that fungi are a risk factor for asthma. Our objective was to compare different combinations of analytical methods (cytology, culture) and sampling sites (tracheal wash (TW), bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF)) in relation to clinical status (control, MA, SA). Methods: Prospective cross-sectional study. Methods: The study population included asymptomatic racing horses in the field and ...
Sporadic and Recurrent Exertional Rhabdomyolysis. Horses are particularly susceptible to developing exertional rhabdomyolysis (ER) characterized by muscle stiffness, pain, and reluctance to move. Diagnosis requires establishing abnormal increases in serum creatine kinase activity when horses exhibit clinical signs. The 2 main categories of ER include sporadic ER arising from extrinsic causes and chronic ER that arises from intrinsic continuous or episodic abnormalities in muscle function. This article focuses on treatment of acute ER and causes and management of sporadic ER. Differential diagnoses for chronic ER as well as the pathophysiology...
Myofibrillar Myopathy. Myofibrillar myopathy (MFM) is characterized by segmental disarray of myofibrils and ectopic accumulation of a protein called desmin. Previously thought to be a glycogen storage disease, MFM is now recognized as a stand-alone myopathy. Endurance Arabians with MFM usually present with exertional rhabdomyolysis (MFM-ER) at the end of races, elevated serum muscle enzymes, and myoglobinuria. Warmblood horses with MFM (MFM-WB) usually present with pain-associated behaviors such as exercise intolerance, reluctance to engage hind quarter muscles, shifting lameness and normal serum muscle enzymes. Bot...
Demographic patterns in horseback riding head and neck injuries within the United States: A NEISS database study. Our primary objective was to identify and describe demographic trends in head and neck injuries incurred while participating in horseback riding. Methods: Cross-sectional analysis. Methods: National Database. Methods: Head and neck injuries related to horseback riding over a ten-year period (2014-2023) were analyzed using data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS). A total of 3,177 cases were identified. Inclusion criteria encompassed injuries to the head, neck, face, mouth, or ear. Variables included age, gender, injury type, anatomical location, and patient disposit...
Bladder rupture in late-pregnancy mares: Four cases. This case series reports four late pregnancy broodmares that were diagnosed with bladder rupture. The initial presentations were abdominal discomfort (n = 3) and dystocia (n = 1). All mares (n = 4) were overdue or at their expected time of delivery. Three mares showed clinical signs related to bladder rupture: pollakiuria (n = 2) and hematuria (n = 1). At the time of diagnosis, three mares had increased peritoneal fluid creatinine, the mean peritoneal: serum creatinine ratio was 4.1, and the bladder tear was observed via cystoscopy in 3 cases. Two mares were discharged from the hospital. Compl...
Spectral Doppler of aortic and carotid blood flow in horses with aortic valve regurgitation. This study aimed to compare two-dimensional, M-mode, color, pulsed-wave Doppler (PWD) and continuous-wave Doppler (CWD) echocardiography, and PWD ultrasonography of the caudal common carotid artery (CCA) in horses with aortic regurgitation (AR). Methods: Warmblood horses without (n = 20) and with mild, moderate, and severe AR (n = 60) were included in the study. Methods: A retrospective descriptive study focused on cardiac dimensions, aortic and CCA Doppler flow. Non-invasive blood pressure and presence of ventricular arrhythmia were recorded. Groups were compared using analysis of varianc...
Effect of equine transvaginal follicle aspiration on serum concentrations of acute phase proteins and their utility in diagnosis of ovarian abscess. Transvaginal ultrasound-guided follicle aspiration (TVA) is being performed frequently in equine practice, to recover oocytes for in vitro embryo production via intracytoplasmic sperm injection. While complications from TVA are rare, one of the most prevalent major complications is formation of an ovarian abscess, which can result in the necessity for euthanasia. The acute-phase serum proteins, fibrinogen and serum amyloid A (SAA), are markers of inflammation that might be of use in diagnosis of ovarian abscess. However, no information is available on the effect of standard TVA on these acute ...
A novel ready-to-use loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) method for detection of Burkholderia mallei and B. pseudomallei. Glanders and melioidosis are contagious zoonotic diseases caused by Burkholderia mallei and B. pseudomallei, respectively. Bacterial isolation and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) have been used to detect these bacteria in animals suspected of infection; however, both methods require skilled experimental techniques and expensive equipment. These obstacles make it difficult to diagnose B. mallei and B. pseudomallei infections in areas where reagents and equipment are difficult to procure. To solve this problem, we developed an easy and ready-to-use dried-format diagnostic tool based on loop-medi...
Characterisation of equine odontoclastic tooth resorption and hypercementosis: A comparative study using microCT and radiography in age-matched controls. Equine odontoclastic tooth resorption and hypercementosis (EOTRH) is a painful disorder primarily affecting the incisor teeth of horses over 15 years of age. Clinical signs of the disease include prehension problems, halitosis and in severe cases weight loss. The disease predominately affects the reserve crown and presents as a loss of dental tissue and excessive build-up of cementum. Objective: To determine the radiographic scores of horses with EOTRH and age-matched controls and to increase understanding of EOTRH using microCT to compare teeth from horses with EOTRH and age-matched control...
Chronic Cough and Hyperpnea: Clinical Approach to Equine Asthma. Exercise intolerance, chronic cough, and hyperpnea are the clinical hallmarks of equine asthma. Diagnosis of severe equine asthma in horses is multistep; determination of the phenotype will help guide future recommendations. Management of equine asthma is largely reduction/elimination of triggering agents/conditions. Immunosuppressive therapies and bronchodilators are the mainstay of treatment of equine asthma. Rescue therapy with short-acting bronchodilators is the first goal when managing a horse with hyperpnea. The second goal is to control/reduce inflammation and airway remodeling. Immunos...
Real-Time Reverse Transcription Multienzyme Isothermal Rapid Amplification for Rapid Detection of African Horse Sickness Virus. African horse sickness (AHS) is an acute infectious disease of equids caused by the AHS virus (AHSV), which can cause up to 90% mortality in naive horses. Reliable and rapid diagnosis is crucial for the surveillance and control of AHSV. As one of the AHSV detection methods recommended by World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), the RT-qPCR assay has the drawbacks such as complex operation, expensive instruments, and long detecting time, which limit its application in simple laboratories or outdoors. In this study, a real-time reverse transcription multienzyme isothermal rapid amplification...
Increased plasma nucleosomes are associated with severe sepsis in foals. Sepsis is a main cause of death in neonatal foals. While the syndrome is not completely understood, sepsis is a dysregulated inflammatory response of the host to infection. It can be difficult to diagnose because of varying and non-specific clinical signs and imperfect diagnostic tests. Increased circulating nucleosome levels have been detected in humans and animals with sepsis, but this has not been documented in foals. Nucleosomes are released extracellularly during neutrophil extracellular trap formation, as well as from damaged and dead cells. We analysed plasma samples from clinically hea...
From Prediction to Precision: Explainable AI-Driven Insights for Targeted Treatment in Equine Colic. Colic is a leading cause of mortality in horses, demanding precise and timely interventions. This study integrates machine learning and explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) to predict survival outcomes in horses with colic, using clinical, procedural, and diagnostic data. Random forest and XGBoost emerged as top-performing models, achieving F1 scores of 85.9% and 86.1%, respectively. SHAP (Shapley additive explanations) was employed to provide interpretable insights, offering both global and local explanations for model predictions. The analysis revealed that key features, such as pulse r...
Plasma Cardiac Troponin-I Concentration in Normal Horses and in Horses with Cardiac Abnormalities. Cardiac troponin-I (cTnI) is a highly sensitive and specific marker of myocardial injury detectable in plasma by immunoassay techniques. Inclusion criteria over a 3-year period required a diagnosis of cardiac disease accompanied by electrocardiographic (ECG) and cardiac ultrasound examinations (n = 23) in adult horses (≥2 years of age). A second group of normal adult ponies (n = 12) was studied as a reference group. Heparinized jugular venous blood samples were collected and centrifuged within 30 min, and the plasma was separated and frozen at -70 °C for subsequent batched cTnI analysis. Th...
Comparison of nasal swabs and handmade foam cubes for detecting equine herpesvirus 5 (EHV-5) by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The control of equine respiratory infections is a biosecurity challenge. Respiratory viruses are often rapidly detected using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) on nasal swabs. In the past, some laboratories developed handmade techniques to increase the amount of nasal secretions collected, without comparing them with nasal swabs when qPCR replaced the use of viral culture. The objectives of this study were to compare nasal swabs and handmade foam cubes for i) the detection of a common equine herpesvirus (EHV-5) by qPCR, and ii) their tolerability. Forty-five polyester swabs and foa...
Could Serum Collectin-11, surfactant protein-A and D be suitable biomarkers for assessing pulmonary damage caused by Rhodococcus equi infection in foals on large farms? Rhodococcus equi (R. equi) is a primary cause of pyogranulomatous pneumonia of foals between three weeks and five months of age. Early diagnosis of rhodococcal pneumonia has always been considered a preferable approach as it can lead to more successful treatment and better outcomes. Horse stud farms where the disease is common, neonatal foals are subjected to tests such as complete blood count and fibrinogen analysis at certain intervals. However, new biomarkers are needed in addition to blood count and fibrinogen measurement in this field for early diagnosis of diseases. Based on this need, i...
Clinicopathologic Parameters of Peritoneal Fluid as Predictors of Gastrointestinal Lesions, Complications, and Outcomes in Equine Colic Patients: A Retrospective Study. Neutrophil characteristics in peritoneal fluid (PF) may aid in diagnosing and treating specific colic lesions and complications. The objective of this retrospective study was to evaluate quantitative PF leukocyte values, as well as PF total protein (TP) and lactate, for associations with diagnosis, morbidity, and mortality in horses with acute colic. Three hundred and forty-two horses that presented to one institution between January 2010-2020 for the evaluation of acute colic were included. The PF total nucleated cell count (TNCC), % and total neutrophil counts, total protein (TP), and lactat...
Respiratory viruses affecting health and performance in equine athletes. Some respiratory viruses can affect equine athletes, with acute respiratory clinical signs leading to a reduced ability to perform. The direct association between equine respiratory viruses and athletic performance is unclear in subclinically affected horses. This narrative review summarises the current evidence on respiratory viruses most commonly detected in performing horses, including equine herpesviruses, equine influenza virus, equine rhinitis viruses, equine arteritis virus, and equine adenovirus 1. It covers their virology, clinical manifestations, epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis...
A comparative study evaluating three line immunoassays available for serodiagnosis of equine Lyme borreliosis: Detection of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato-specific antibodies in serum samples of vaccinated and non-vaccinated horses. Diagnosis of equine Lyme borreliosis (LB), an infection caused by members of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex (Bbsl), is challenging due to the nonspecific clinical signs of the disease and due to the variety of non-standardized serological tests. Specific vaccine-induced antibodies against LB, providing an effective protection against the infection, complicate the issue further. The standard for the detection of specific antibodies against Bbsl is a two-tier test system based on an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFA) for antibody sc...
Survey of the approach to the diagnosis and management of bacterial pneumonia in adult horses by equine veterinarians. Bacterial pneumonia is a common disease in adult horses, but there are no guidelines for practitioners regarding risk factors, diagnosis, and management of the disease. The objectives of this study were to describe how a group of equine veterinarians diagnose and treat bacterial pneumonia in adult horses. A 22-question survey was distributed via multiple platforms to equine veterinarians asking questions regarding the frequency with which they identified specific clinical findings and used certain diagnostic modalities, and the approach to antimicrobial and adjunct therapy. Three hundred nine ...
How to perform a transtracheal aspirate in horses for diagnosis of lower respiratory tract disease. To describe indications for and demonstrate the technique to perform a transtracheal aspirate in horses. Transtracheal aspirate is indicated to collect samples for cytology and bacteriologic culture in cases of suspected pneumonia or other lower respiratory tract disease. Methods: 1 healthy university-owned horse was used for demonstration purposes. Images of clinical case samples from the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital are shown. Methods: The horse is restrained and sedated with detomidine or xylazine to facilitate restraint and butorphanol to minimize coughing. The ventr...
Temporal kinetics of serum amyloid A (SAA) concentration and identification of SAA isoforms in blood and synovial fluid of horses with experimentally induced septic arthritis, non-septic synovitis, and systemic inflammation. Prompt diagnosis of equine septic arthritis is crucial for successful treatment. Serum amyloid A (SAA) has been suggested as a reliable biomarker. However, we previously found that synovial fluid SAA increases in nonaffected joints of horses with septic arthritis. We hypothesized that systemic SAA may leak into the nonaffected joints. If this is the case, we also hypothesized that locally produced joint SAA isoforms may be better candidates for septic arthritis biomarkers. Thus, our objectives were 1) to evaluate the temporal kinetics of systemic and synovial fluid SAA in horses with septic ar...
Profiling host- and parasite-derived miRNAs associated with Strongylus vulgaris infection in horses. The equine bloodworm, Strongylus vulgaris, is a common and highly pathogenic parasite in horses due to its migratory life cycle involving the intestinal arteries. Current diagnostic techniques cannot detect the prepatent migrating stages of S. vulgaris, highlighting the need for new biomarkers. Parasites release microRNAs (miRNAs) into their environment, which could potentially be detectable in host blood samples. Additionally, host miRNA expression patterns may change in response to infection. This study aimed to identify miRNAs associated with S. vulgaris infection by profiling the horse's m...
An ongoing concern: 20 years of research on equine atypical myopathy. Anne-Christine François, Benoît Renaud, Caroline-Julia Kruse, Christel Marcillaud-Pitel and Dominique-Marie Votion of the Atypical Myopathy Alert Group discuss insights from 20 years of research and surveillance on equine atypical myopathy.
Bilateral coxofemoral dysplasia in a Mangalarga Marchador foal. Coxofemoral dysplasia is a condition characterized by the abnormal development and flattening of the femoral head and deformities in the acetabulum, leading to joint instability. Although described in various animal species, it is uncommon and rarely reported in horses. This article presents a case of incapacitating coxofemoral dysplasia diagnosed in a four-month-old foal Mangalarga Marchador, which exhibited lameness in the hind limbs, thoracolumbar kyphosis, gluteal muscle atrophy, and pronounced sensitivity during pelvic limb flexion. The clinical diagnosis indicative of bilateral coxofemor...
[Equine piroplasmosis: Case descriptions and overview of the epidemiological situation in Europe with focus on Germany]. Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is caused by (.) and (.) and is transmitted by hard ticks. Predominantly, the Mediterranean region is known as being endemic for both pathogens in Europe. However, autochthonous infections in central European countries such as Germany can no longer be ruled out due to individual case reports in horses without any stays abroad as well as the geographical expansion of the habitats of different tick species. The case reports presented underline the risk of infection for horses travelling to endemic areas and in horses imported from such areas to non-endemic countries...
[Equine granulocytic anaplasmosis (EGA): Case description and overview of the epidemiological situation with focus on Germany]. Equine granulocytic anaplasmosis (EGA) is a tick-borne disease caused by Anaplasma (A.) phagocytophilum. In Central, Northern, Western, and Eastern Europe, ticks of the Ixodes (I.) ricinus/I. persulcatus complex, in Germany mainly I. ricinus, are considered as vectors. Ixodes ricinus ticks show peaks of activity during the spring and summer months, particularly April to July. Changing climatic conditions, however, have meanwhile led to a year-round risk of tick exposure and thus infections with A. phagocytophilum. The presented case report underlines the seasonal peak phase of the infection ri...
Equine Asthma Diagnostics: Review of Influencing Factors and Difficulties in Diagnosing Subclinical Disease. This literature review focuses on diagnostics of equine asthma (EA), possible influencing factors on diagnostic techniques and latest developments in diagnosing horses during EA remission or with subclinical disease. Routine EA diagnostics include a clinical examination of the respiratory system with percussion and auscultation including a rebreathing examination, and clinical pathology including white blood cells and arterial blood gas analysis. Subsequent diagnostics include bronchoscopy to evaluate the amount and viscosity of respiratory secretion, bronchoalveolar lavage, and the cytology o...
Quantitative lameness assessment in horses by using an accelerometer-based simple device: A preliminary study. Global technological advancements have shifted equine lameness diagnostics from purely subjective assessment toward more objective, quantitative methods. Traditional gait evaluations are increasingly being supplemented by innovative technologies to enhance diagnostic accuracy. Unassigned: This study aimed to determine if traditional gait assessment could be effectively complemented by quantitative measurements using an affordable, self-constructed device, the Lameness Detector 0.1, which incorporates inertial motion sensors. Unassigned: A total of 42 adult sport horses diagnosed with hindleg l...
A review of the equine suspensory ligament: Injury prone yet understudied. The suspensory ligament (SL) is a key component of the elaborate and highly adapted suspensory apparatus in the horse. In addition to contributing to stabilisation of the metacarpophalangeal joint, the SL has a spring like function to reduce the energetic cost of locomotion. Although the SL is highly prone to injury in horses of all ages and competing in a wide range of disciplines, knowledge regarding fundamental structure-function relationships in the SL is lacking, particularly compared with other injury-prone tendinous structures such as the superficial digital flexor tendon. In this revie...