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Topic:Disease Diagnosis
Disease diagnosis in horses involves the identification and characterization of illnesses through various diagnostic methods and tools. This process is essential for effective veterinary care and management of equine health. Techniques used in diagnosing diseases in horses include clinical examinations, laboratory tests, imaging modalities such as ultrasonography and radiography, and molecular diagnostics. Blood tests are frequently utilized to assess parameters such as complete blood count and biochemical profiles, which can indicate underlying health issues. Additionally, advancements in genetic testing and biomarker identification have enhanced the ability to detect specific diseases early. This page aggregates peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore diagnostic methodologies, their applications, and their impact on equine health management.
Repair of a diaphragmatic hernia in a horse. One month after falling heavily a four-year-old horse developed acute colic while being exercised. A tentative diagnosis of diaphragmatic hernia was reached on the basis of the clinical findings and confirmed at laparotomy. The defect was repaired and the horse made an uneventful recovery.
Use of ultrasonography for the detection of aortic-iliac thrombosis in horses. Two dimensional ultrasonographic evaluation of the iliac arteries and terminal portion of the aorta was utilized in 18 horses with histories of exercise intolerance or hindlimb lameness. A plaque or thrombus was imaged in one or more of these vessels in 5 horses. In 2 horses, the initial rectal examination findings were normal and the thrombus may have been missed without the use of diagnostic ultrasonography.
Hybridoma cell lines secreting monoclonal antibodies against equine infectious anemia virus. A monoclonal anti-equine infectious anemia virus (anti-EIAV) antibody (1B15) has been generated by fusion of X63 Ag 8.653 myeloma cells and spleen cells from mice hypersensitized with viral antigen p29. Ouchterlony double-diffusion analysis indicated that antibody 1B15 is of the IgG class. The specificity of the immune reaction for p29 was confirmed by cross-over immunoelectrophoresis and disc-gel electrophoresis. MAb 1B15 was used to devise a solid-phase 'capture' RIA for EIAV-p29 antigen. The antigen, bound by 1B15 adsorbed onto wells of flexible microtitre plates, was detected using a rabbi...
Clinical features and treatment of renal tubular acidosis in two horses. Two horses were admitted separately for evaluation and treatment of profound hyperchloremic metabolic acidosis without azotemia. One, an 11-year-old Quarter Horse mare, had been depressed and ataxic for 2 days. The other, a 2-year-old Quarter Horse colt, had a 6-week history of depression, anorexia, and weight loss. Both horses responded to fluid and electrolyte therapy, but required daily oral administration of sodium bicarbonate for maintenance. In each case, the diagnosis was renal tubular acidosis.
Malignant teratoid medulloepithelioma in a horse. Enlargement of the left eye, corneal opacification, and blindness were clinical signs of a teratoid medulloepithelioma in a 5-year-old Standardbred mare. Diagnosis was made on histologic examination of the enucleated eye. Medulloepitheliomas are congenital intraocular tumors arising from primitive ciliary body epithelium. Their development is rare in domestic animals.
Systemic and centrally mediated angiotensin II effects in the horse. The primary aim of the study was to evaluate the potential value of intravenous (i.v.) infusion of angiotensin II (AII) for phonocardiographic differential diagnosis of equine valvular insufficiency. Ten-minute AII infusions at 4.5-33 pmol kg-1 min-1 induced clear-cut dose-dependent rises in systemic arterial blood pressure (aBP), whereas the pulmonary aBP remained largely unaffected. It implies that i.v. infusion of AII at about 10 pmol kg-1 min-1 could be a valuable tool for the acoustic differentiation between mitral and tricuspid valvular dysfunction in the horse. The infusion at, and abov...
Pythium insidiosum sp. nov., the etiologic agent of pythiosis. Pythium insidiosum sp. nov., the etiologic agent of pythiosis, a cosmopolitan disease of horses, cattle, and dogs, is described and illustrated.
Renal tubular acidosis in two horses: diagnostic studies. An 11-year-old Quarter Horse mare and a 2-year-old Quarter Horse colt with clinical diagnoses of renal tubular acidosis (RTA) were donated to the University of California Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. A series of diagnostic tests was performed in an attempt to characterize the type and cause of RTA in these horses. Endogenous creatinine clearance and sodium sulfanilate clearance were within reference ranges; thus, no abnormality of glomerular function was detected. To assess renal tubular function in response to acid loading, each horse was given 0.1 g of NH4Cl/kg of body weight via na...
Quantification of immunoglobulins in respiratory tract secretions of the horse. Lavage techniques were used to obtain secretions from the nasal cavity, trachea and bronchi of conscious horses. The techniques, which utilised fibreoptic endoscopy for recovery of tracheal and bronchial secretions, were well tolerated by the horses. The recovery rates of the lavaged fluids were acceptable, but were lowest for bronchial secretions, and there was minimal contamination by blood. The fluids were analysed for IgG and IgM by single radial immunodiffusion, and for IgA and albumin by rocket immunoelectrophoresis. Relative to albumin there was significantly more IgA and IgM, and signi...
Prevalence of internal parasites in horses in critical tests of activity of parasiticides over a 28-year period (1956-1983) in Kentucky. The prevalence and number of naturally acquired gastrointestinal parasites were compiled for horses used in critical tests of activity of parasiticides over a 28-year period (1956-1983). Data are presented as follows: n = number of horses examined; % = mean prevalence; number in parentheses after % = aggregate mean number of parasites in infected horses. Parasites found were: bots (n = 513) - Gasterophilus intestinalis, 2nd instar, 61%(58); 3rd instar, 94%(168); G. nasalis, 2nd instar, 36%(28); 3rd instar, 81%(51); stomach worms (n = 200) - Habronema muscae, 65%(179); Draschia megastoma, 29%(9...
Hemorrhagic fibrinonecrotic duodenitis-proximal jejunitis in horses: 20 cases (1977-1984). Records of 20 horses with small intestinal disease causing acute colic and affecting the proximal portion of the small intestine were examined retrospectively. The disease was characterized by severe to moderate pain, which was replaced by depression, fever, gastric reflux, slight distention of the affected small intestine, leukocytosis, and high concentrations of total protein in the peritoneal fluid. Grossly, the affected intestines were hemorrhagic and had yellow discoloration. Histopathologic findings included submucosal edema, neutrophilic infiltration of the submucosal and laminal propri...
Umbilical cord remnant infections in foals: 16 cases (1975-1985). Infection of the umbilical cord remnants was diagnosed in 16 foals. The infection was found in the urachus alone in 3 foals, the umbilical arteries in 2 foals, the urachus and umbilical arteries in 3 foals, the urachus and umbilical vein in 2 foals, and the urachus, umbilical vein, and umbilical arteries in 2 foals. The specific location of the infection was not determined in 4 foals. Eleven foals developed an acquired patent urachus between 4 and 16 days of age. Seven foals had one or more joints infected. All foals with umbilical cord remnant infections were treated with orally, intramuscula...
Characterization of experimentally induced equine leukoencephalomalacia (ELEM) in ponies (Equus caballus): preliminary report. An isolate of Fusarium moniliforme (M-1225 Cairo #1) was cultured on autoclaved corn and fed daily to 5 ponies at a rate of 2.5 g corn/kg body wt. One pony developed clinical signs of toxicity after 28 days and was sacrificed. The remaining 4 ponies developed no clinical sign of toxicity even after extended exposure. Hematology, serum chemistry, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and liver and brain pathology were evaluated as possible diagnostic and prognostic indicators. Hematology was not informative. Aspartate aminotransferase and gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase activities were elevated only in the c...
Evaluation for veterinary use of the Chiltern box: a device for home electrocardiographic monitoring. The Chiltern Box is a small electrocardiograph designed for home monitoring of human patients. Its veterinary application has been investigated in the dog, the cat and the horse. It has been useful in the diagnosis of previously undiagnosed dysrhythmias in dogs showing signs of exercise intolerance and syncope.
Equine degenerative myeloencephalopathy: a vitamin E deficiency that may be familial. Two horse farms, on which there was a high incidence of proven and suspected equine degenerative myeloencephalopathy (EDM), were studied. Symmetric ataxia and paresis, along with laryngeal adductor, cervicofacial, local cervical, and cutaneous trunci hyporeflexia, characterized the syndrome. Serum vitamin E concentration reflected a deficient state in affected and unaffected horses on both farms when compared with selected reference groups and with published values. A high incidence of the disease was evident in offspring of two particular sires on one farm. Vitamin E supplementation resulted ...
Role of anaerobic bacteria in equine endometritis. This study, performed over 3 breeding seasons, surveyed anaerobic and aerobic bacterial isolates from 362 clitoral and endometrial swabs and uterine washes from 263 Thoroughbred maiden, foaling, foal heat and barren mares, and from 113 urethral, urethral fossa, preputial and pre-ejaculatory fluid swabs from 29 Thoroughbred stallions. The significance of isolates was determined by their association with acute endometritis, as determined by concurrent endometrial smear results and by consideration of age and reproductive status before and after the survey. The results suggest that the horse uter...
Observations on tracheal mucociliary clearance in horses. The rate of movement up the mucociliary escalator of Technetium99m tagged to macroaggregated albumin was measured in 7 normal horses and 8 with respiratory disease. The activity at 2 sites in the neck, separated by 12-15 cm, was measured using a hand held scintillation counter and rate meter. In normal horses the Technetium complex moved as a bolus up the neck with a mean rate of 1.58 cm/min. In the horses with respiratory disease the Technetium complex was less likely to move as a discrete bolus and in three horses it was not possible to measure the transport rate. The remainder had a mean tr...
Pemphigoid in domestic animals. Pemphigoid (from the Greek “resembling pemphigus”) has been recognized in humans for many years. The occurence of pemphigoid in domestic animals is a much more recent observation. In the dog, bullous pemphigoid was first documented in 1978.1 Equine bullous pemphigoid was originally reported in 1981.2 The purpose of this article is to review pemphigoid in domestic animals, compare the disease with its human counterpart, and alert the physician to an exciting area for comparative dermatologic research.
Correlation between anion gap, blood L lactate concentration and survival in horses. Blood L lactate concentration and anion gap were measured in 32 horses suspected of having metabolic acidosis. There was good linear correlation between these variables (r = 0.90791, P less than 0.0001) and both were good prognostic indicators. Anion gap was a good indicator of the presence but not the severity of L lactic acidosis and was a slightly better prognostic indicator. The ability to predict survival was not improved by the measurement of L lactate in addition to anion gap.
Contribution of whole blood L-lactate, pyruvate, D-lactate, acetoacetate, and 3-hydroxybutyrate concentrations to the plasma anion gap in horses with intestinal disorders. Increased anion gap (AG) was due, in part, to L-lactic acidosis in 14 of 14 horses with intestinal disorders. In a few horses, increased whole blood concentrations of D-lactate made a minor contribution to the AG. However, the increase in AG was often greater than the sum of the increases in these 2 acid anions. This unexplained increase was not a result of increases in whole blood pyruvate, 3-hydroxybutyrate, or acetoacetate concentrations or serum albumin or phosphate concentrations. Identification of other anions causing increased AG could lead to better understanding, diagnosis, and treatm...
