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Topic:Diagnostic Technique
Diagnostic techniques in equine medicine encompass a range of procedures and tools used to identify diseases, injuries, or other health conditions in horses. These techniques include imaging methods such as radiography, ultrasonography, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), as well as laboratory tests like blood work and tissue biopsies. Each diagnostic method provides specific information that can aid in the assessment and management of equine health issues. Radiography is commonly used for evaluating bone structures, while ultrasonography is useful for soft tissue examination. MRI offers detailed images of both soft and hard tissues, though its use is limited by cost and availability. Laboratory tests can detect biochemical and hematological changes indicative of disease. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the development, application, and efficacy of various diagnostic techniques in equine veterinary practice.
Evaluation of a larval development assay (DrenchRite) for the detection of anthelmintic resistance in cyathostomin nematodes of horses. A larval development assay (LDA, DrenchRite) was evaluated to determine the effectiveness of this method in detecting anthelmintic resistance in cyathostomin nematodes of horses. A total of 15 horse farms from Georgia and South Carolina (USA) and Population S ponies from the University of Kentucky (USA) were included in this study. Nematode eggs were extracted from pooled fecal samples and placed into the wells of a DrenchRite plate for testing against thiabendazole (TBZ), levamisole (LEV) and 2 ivermectin (IVM) analogs (IVM-1, IVM-2). After a 7-day incubation larvae in each well were counted ...
Periapical curettage: an alternative surgical approach to infected mandibular cheek teeth in horses. To evaluate an alternative surgical method for treating periapical infection of the mandibular cheek teeth of horses. Methods: Retrospective study. Methods: Eleven horses (3-13 years) with periapical mandibular tooth infection. Methods: Hospital records (1992-2002) of horses that had periapical curettage for the treatment of mandibular cheek tooth root infection were retrieved. Clinical signs, radiographic, and surgical reports were reviewed. Outcome was obtained by telephone questionnaire for 7 horses and by physical examination in 2. Results: Eleven horses (14 infected mandibular molariform ...
Breath condensate hydrogen peroxide correlates with both airway cytology and epithelial lining fluid ascorbic acid concentration in the horse. The relationship between hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) concentration in expired breath condensate (EBC) and cytology of the respiratory tract obtained from tracheal wash (TW) or bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), and epithelial lining fluid (ELF) antioxidant status is unknown. To examine this we analysed the concentration of H2O2 in breath condensate from healthy horses and horses affected by recurrent airway obstruction (RAO), a condition considered to be an animal model of human asthma. The degree of airway inflammation was determined by assessing TW inflammation as mucus, cell density and neutrophil ...
Comparison of tracheal aspirates and bronchoalveolar lavage in racehorses. 1. Evaluation of cytological stains and the percentage of mast cells and eosinophils. To compare a fast Romanowsky cytological stain (Diff-Quik) and Leishman's stain for the detection of mast cells in samples from the lower airways of racehorses, and to compare the proportion of mast cells and eosinophils in the total inflammatory cells in tracheal aspirate (TA) with those in paired bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples. Methods: Retrospective case series of 48 young Thoroughbred and Standardbred racehorses. Methods: Fifty-one paired TA and BAL samples were collected after treadmill exercise from 48 horses with poor racing performance. Two slides were prepared from each sample; ...
Comparison of tracheal aspirates and bronchoalveolar lavage in racehorses. 2. Evaluation of the diagnostic significance of neutrophil percentage. To determine whether diagnosis of airway inflammation, using cut-off percentages for neutrophils, differs when based on samples from tracheal aspirate (TA) and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) collected concomitantly from the same racehorse. Methods: Retrospective case series of 48 young Thoroughbred and Standardbred racehorses in race training, but showing poor performance. PROCEDURE TA and BAL samples were collected from all horses 1 to 2 h after high-speed treadmill exercise. Aliquots of the retrieved fluid were cytocentrifuged and smears stained with Diff-Quik. The mean percentage of neutrophi...
Polymerase chain reaction tests for the identification of Ross River, Kunjin and Murray Valley encephalitis virus infections in horses. To develop and validate specific, sensitive and rapid diagnostic tests using RT-PCR for the detection of Ross River virus (RRV), Kunjin virus (KV) and Murray Valley encephalitis virus (MVEV) infections in horses. Methods: Primer sets based on nucleotide sequence encoding the envelope glycoprotein E2 of RRV and on the nonstructural protein 5 (NS5) of KV and MVEV were designed and used in single round PCRs to test for the respective viruses in infected cell cultures and, in the case of RRV, in samples of horse blood and synovial fluid. Results: The primer pairs designed for each of the three vir...
Aberrant blood flow area and plasma gonadotropin concentrations during the development of dominant-sized transitional anovulatory follicles in mares. Color Doppler transrectal ultrasound was used to evaluate blood flow area in the wall of dominant anovulatory follicles versus ovulatory follicles in mares during the transition between anovulatory and ovulatory seasons. Daily examinations were done in 11 control mares toward the end of the anovulatory season. In 13 separate mares, follicular fluid was collected from 30-mm follicles, and blood flow areas from control mares were used as a basis for designating the sampled follicle as either anovulatory or ovulatory. Blood flow area in the controls ranged from 0.18 to 0.35 cm(2) in six mares on ...
Validation of diagnostic tests for determination of magnesium status in horses with reduced magnesium intake. To evaluate the diagnostic value of serum concentrations of total magnesium (tMg) and ionized magnesium (iMg), concentrations of magnesium (Mg) in muscle, intracellular Mg (icMg) concentrations, urinary Mg excretion (EMg), Mg clearance (CMg), and fractional clearance of Mg (FCMg) in horses fed diets with Mg content above and below National Research Council recommendations. Methods: 9 young female horses. Methods: 6 horses were fed a reduced-Mg diet for 29 days followed by an Mg-supplemented diet for 24 days. Control horses (n = 3) were fed grass hay exclusively. Blood, urine, and tissue sample...
In vivo investigation of the efficacy of a customized solution to attenuate injury following low-flow ischemia and reperfusion injury in the jejunum of horses. To evaluate the efficacy of a customized solution to attenuate intestinal injury following 20% low-flow ischemia and reperfusion in the jejunum of horses. Methods: 10 healthy adult horses. Methods: Two 30.5-cm-long segments of jejunum were exteriorized through a ventral midline incision and the mesenteric artery and vein supplying that portion of the intestine were instrumented with flow probes. Blood flow was decreased to 20% of baseline for 90 minutes followed by 90 minutes of reperfusion. In 5 horses, 60 mL of the customized solution was placed in the lumen of each segment (treatment-group ...
Use of distraction osteogenesis for the correction of deviated nasal septum and premaxilla in a horse. A 13-month-old female Andalusian was evaluated because of a congenital left deviation of the maxilla and nasal septum, which had resulted in a gross malocclusion of the maxillary incisor teeth. Surgical correction of a deviated nasal septum and premaxilla in a horse was first reported in 1978 and involved a pre-maxilla osteotomy and use of an autogenous rib graft, with a nasal septum osteotomy performed in a second surgery; to the authors' knowledge, no alternative surgical treatments have since been described. In this horse, a new surgical treatment by distraction osteogenesis without nasal s...
In vitro study of heat production during power reduction of equine mandibular teeth. To measure the amount of heat generated during 3 methods of equine dental reduction with power instruments. Methods: In vitro study. Methods: 30 premolar and molar teeth removed from mandibles of 8 equine heads collected at an abbatoir. Methods: 38-gauge copper-constantan thermocouples were inserted into the lingual side of each tooth 15 mm (proximal) and 25 mm (distal) from the occlusal surface, at a depth of 5 mm, which placed the tip close to the pulp chamber. Group-NC1 (n = 10) teeth were ground for 1 minute without coolant, group-NC2 (10) teeth were ground for 2 minutes without coolant, a...
Treatment for a severe reaction to intravenous administration of diatrizoate in an anesthetized horse. A mature horse developed acute signs of bronchoconstriction causing hypoxemia and hypercapnia during anesthesia for computerized tomography of the maxillary sinus after i.v. administration of diatrizoate contrast medium. The horse was treated with aerosolized albuterol, atropine, and oxygen insufflation and recovered uneventfully despite severe hypoxemia and low hemoglobin saturation. The horse's condition continued to improve after treatment, and the horse was discharged with no further complications. Caution is advised with the use of contrast media in anesthetized horses.
Differential blood flow changes between the future dominant and subordinate follicles precede diameter changes during follicle selection in mares. Diameter deviation during a follicular wave is characterized by the continued growth of the developing dominant follicle and reduced growth and regression of the subordinate follicles. This study considered the hypothesis that reduced blood flow in the future largest subordinate follicle precedes the beginning of diameter deviation. The hypothesis was tested by quantifying the daily changes in blood-flow velocities and blood-flow area within the wall of follicles before and during diameter deviation in mares (n = 7). The blood-flow end points were quantified daily by transrectal color Doppler ...
Reproductive performance of thoroughbred mares in sweden. During 1997-2001, a total of 430 Thoroughbred mares were mated by one of the two Thoroughbred stallions on a well-managed stud farm in the central part of Sweden. On arrival, a thorough gynaecological examination of all mares was performed. An early pregnancy examination was performed on days 14 and 15 after ovulation. The overall conception rates for the two stallions were 92.2 and 88.8%, and the corresponding live foal rates were 82.6 and 75.2%, respectively. The mean number of served oestrous cycles was 1.60 per mare per conception and 1.86 per live foal. The first and second cycle concepti...
Monitoring the critically ill equine patient. Measurements of physiologic parameters, such as blood pressure or lactate concentration, are useful to detect occult derangements, such as tissue hypoxia and dysoxia. These tools are also useful in determining the effects of therapy. Monitoring techniques are now widely available for the intensive management of critically ill horses and foals. A number of these have evolved into noninvasive or minimally invasive devices and procedures and provide information that can be used for earlier and more dynamic therapeutic intervention. The goal of increased monitoring is to improve the level of care ...
The coagulation system in horses with colic. Colic in horses very often induces changes in the coagulation system causing the development of disseminated intravascular clotting. It is promoted by blood concentration and an increase in exposition of coagulation activators with a simultaneous decrease in coagulation inhibitors activity, mainly antithrombin III. Progressing blood platelets aggregation supports production of microthromboses and plugging capillary vessels. The progression of this processes causes complications in basic disease and becomes the reason for therapeutic failure. Determination of coagulation system indexes such as ...
Alteration in uterine contractility in mares with experimentally induced placentitis. An experimental model of ascending placentitis was developed in the mare to characterize the uterine myoelectrical pattern in late gestation and determine how ascending placentitis altered this pattern. In experiment 1, myometrial electrical activity was analyzed during the early morning, late morning and evening hours in four mares in the last 15 days of gestation to identify patterns of activity. In experiment 2, nine mares received intra-cervical inoculations of Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus. Myoelectrical activity in the early morning and evening hours in these mares was comp...
Exophthalmia associated with paranasal sinus osteoma in a Quarterhorse mare. An 11-year-old Quarterhorse mare developed a paranasal sinus osteoma that extended into the right orbit and led to ipsilateral exophthalmia. Although the tumor was radiographically evident in the paranasal sinuses, ultrasonography was used to demonstrate extension of the tumor into the retrobulbar space, and endoscopy was used to identify its extension into the nasopharynx. Biopsies were obtained using both fine-needle aspiration and paranasal sinus trephination. Despite numerous antemortem diagnostic tests, only postmortem histologic analysis of the mass afforded the diagnosis of osteoma.
Placental teratocarcinoma in a mare with possible metastasis to the foal. A teratocarcinoma was diagnosed in the amnion of a 5-year-old Arabian mare that delivered a healthy, full-term foal. The foal died at 2.5 months of age as a result of metastasis of an undifferentiated component of the mass. This case is unique because it is the first reported case of placental teratocarcinoma in animals and the malignant component apparently metastasized to the foal resulting in its death.
Characterization of the neutralization determinants of equine arteritis virus using recombinant chimeric viruses and site-specific mutagenesis of an infectious cDNA clone. We have used an infectious cDNA clone of equine arteritis virus (EAV) and reverse genetics technology to further characterize the neutralization determinants in the GP5 envelope glycoprotein of the virus. We generated a panel of 20 recombinant viruses, including 10 chimeric viruses that each contained the ORF5 (which encodes GP5) of different laboratory, field, and vaccine strains of EAV, a chimeric virus containing the N-terminal ectodomain of GP5 of a European strain of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus, and 9 mutant viruses with site-specific substitutions in their GP5 pro...
Streptococcus devriesei sp. nov., from equine teeth. Phenotypic and phylogenetic studies were performed on four unidentified Gram-positive staining, catalase-negative, alpha-hemolytic Streptococcus-like organisms recovered from the teeth of horses. SDS PAGE analysis of whole-cell proteins and comparative 16S rRNA gene sequencing demonstrated the four strains were highly related to each other but that they did not correspond to any recognised species of the genus Streptococcus. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed the unidentified organisms form a hitherto unknown sub-line within the Streptococcus genus, displaying a clos...
Assessment of the efficacy of composite surgery for the treatment of dorsal displacement of the soft palate in a group of 53 racing Thoroughbreds (1990-1996). There has been no objectively assessed case-control study of the efficacy of surgery to correct dorsal displacement of the soft palate (DDSP) previously reported. Objective: Composite surgery has a beneficial result on racing performance in horses affected with DDSP as compared to a matched control population. Methods: Race records were obtained for 53 racing Thoroughbreds which underwent composite staphylectomy, sternothyrohyoideus myectomy and ventriculectomy for correction of idiopathic DDSP at the University of Bristol between 1990 and 1996. Each surgical case was matched for age, sex and ...
Clinical significance of ossification of the cartilages of the front feet based on nuclear bone scintigraphy, radiography and lameness examinations in 21 Finnhorses. Research on the clinical significance of ossification of the cartilages of the foot has been limited, despite the common nature of the condition and conflicting reports in previous literature. Objective: Some radiographic features in the ossification of the cartilages, such as incomplete fusion lines between separate centres of ossification and the ossified base, are of clinical significance. Methods: The relationships between radiopharmaceutical uptake in bone phase nuclear scintigraphy at the heels (palmar processes of the distal phalanx, including ossification of the cartilages of the foot)...
Collateral desmitis of the distal interphalangeal joint in 18 horses (2001-2002). There have been no previously published case series of horses examined using either scintigraphy or MRI to diagnose collateral ligament injuries not detectable using ultrasonography or radiography, nor have other concurrent soft tissue lesions been described. Objective: To describe the clinical features of horses with desmitis of the collateral ligaments of the distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint and to evaluate the results of radiographic, ultrasonographic, scintigraphic and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations. Methods: Horses were examined between January 2001 and January 2003 and w...
Hair analysis as a novel investigative tool for the detection of historical drug use/misuse in the horse: a pilot study. Analysis of human hair for drug residues is being used increasingly as a diagnostic tool in the investigation of drug use and abuse. Hair analysis is complementary to urine/blood testing in that it can provide an extensive historical record of drug use, is noninvasive, impersonal and can facilitate retesting. However, the technique has not been studied in horses. Objective: That the systemic administration of drugs in horses could be identified by the detection of drug residues in hair. Objective: To evaluate hair analysis as a potential retrospective diagnostic test for drug administration in...
Advances in developing molecular-diagnostic tools for strongyloid nematodes of equids: fundamental and applied implications. Infections of equids with parasitic nematodes of the order Strongylida (subfamilies Strongylinae and Cyathostominae) are of major veterinary importance. In last decades, the widespread use of drugs against these parasites has led to problems of resistance within the Cyathostominae, and to an increase in their prevalence and intensity of infection. Novel control strategies, based on improved knowledge of parasite biology and epidemiology, have thus become important. However, there are substantial limitations in the understanding of fundamental biological and systematic aspects of these parasite...
Rapid determination of vapA/vapB genotype in Rhodococcus equi using a differential polymerase chain reaction method. Rhodococcus equi is a facultative pathogen of foals. Infection causes an often fatal pulmonary pneumonia. The organism has also been isolated from pigs, cattle, humans and the environment. Equine virulence has a high positive correlation with the expression of a 17.4 kD polypeptide of unknown function, VapA, the product of the plasmid-encoded vapA gene. More recently an isogene of vapA, referred to as vapB and encoding an 18.2 kDa polypeptide, has been identified among pig and human isolates. The two genes share > 80% sequence identity, yet their host strains apparently exhibit different patho...
Use of multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analysis for estimation of total body water and extracellular and intracellular fluid volumes in horses. To evaluate the use of multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analysis (MF-BIA) for estimating total body water (TBW), extracellular fluid volume (ECFV), and intracellular fluid volume (ICFV) in horses. Methods: 9 healthy mares. Methods: TBW and ECFV were measured by use of deuterium oxide and sodium bromide dilution techniques, respectively. Intracellular fluid volume was calculated as the difference between TBW and ECFV. Concurrently, MF-BIA recordings were obtained by use of 4 anatomic electrode positions and 3 measurements of length. Models for MF-BIA data were created for all combinations...
