Topic:Gastrointestinal Diseases
Gastrointestinal diseases in horses encompass a range of disorders affecting the digestive tract, from the mouth to the intestines. These conditions can include colic, gastric ulcers, enteritis, and colitis, among others. The gastrointestinal system in horses is complex and sensitive, making it susceptible to various disruptions. Factors such as diet, management practices, and environmental stressors can influence the onset and progression of these diseases. Understanding the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment options for gastrointestinal diseases is essential for maintaining equine health and welfare. This page aggregates peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the causes, clinical presentations, and management strategies for gastrointestinal diseases in horses.
Effects of pharmacological agents on gastrointestinal motility. The control mechanisms of gastrointestinal motility are complex. Extrinsic neurohormonal effects modulate an intrinsic system, often called the "gut brain," composed of nervous and neuropeptide components. To exert pharmacologic influence on GI motility, use is made of agents that mimic the external control system. Agents that stimulate opioid receptors, block adrenoceptors, block or facilitate acetylcholine action, or antagonize the action of prostaglandins are used to effect changes in GI motility. The major indications for pharmacologic intervention are to increase motility in constipation,...
A device and technique for gastrointestinal lavage in the horse. A device and technique for intra-operative gastro-intestinal lavage was developed to remove ingesta from the stomach, large intestine and caecum of horses. The Gastro-Intestinal Lavage System (GILS) is composed of a nozzle connected to both water under pressure and suction. Water jets across an intake portal in the nozzle, breaks up food and debris within the nozzle and is evacuated under negative pressure into the aspirating tube which is connected to a collection drum. The GILS nozzle was introduced at the pelvic flexure through a sterile enterotomy cuff and plastic sleeve. Water was first a...
Gastric ulcers in horses: a comparison of endoscopic findings in horses with and without clinical signs. Gastroendoscopic examinations were performed on 187 horses, ranging from one to 24 years. Eighty-seven horses had clinical problems including chronic, recurrent colic for seven or more days (25), one or more episodes of colic within the previous seven days (13), or acute colic (10), diminished appetite (53), poor bodily condition (40), and/or chronic diarrhoea (9). One hundred horses that had no signs of gastrointestinal problems were examined as part of a gastroendoscopic survey. Lesions observed in the squamous fundus, squamous mucosa adjacent to the margo plicatus along the greater curvatur...
Antibody titres to core lipopolysaccharides in horses with gastrointestinal disorders which cause colic. Serum immunoglobulin (Ig) titres to core lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were determined in 102 horses admitted to a university referral hospital during a 12-month period for evaluation of colic. Serum samples were collected again 10-14 days later from 84 of the horses. Titres to core LPS were quantitated by an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), utilising the J-5 mutant of Escherichia coli 0111:B4 as the solid-phase antigen. All horses had natural antibodies to core LPS at the time of admission and the titre was not affected significantly by age, sex or type of gastrointestinal disor...
Plasma endotoxin concentrations in experimental and clinical equine subjects. Endotoxin (LPS) was quantitated in experimental subjects and in horses with naturally occurring gastrointestinal strangulation obstruction and/or septicaemic diseases to establish the fate of LPS and the clinical usefulness of the Limulus amoebocyte lysate (LAL) assay. The assay was validated for sensitivity (10 pg/ml), recovery (90 to 106 per cent), intra-assay precision (CV = 5.5 per cent) inter-assay precision (CV = 11 per cent), and stability of diluted, heat treated, frozen samples (at least 90 days). Plasma concentrations of LPS after sublethal (3 micrograms/kg) jugular or portal vein bo...
Surgical management of duodenal obstruction in an adult horse. A 3-year-old Standardbred stallion was admitted for treatment of acute enterocolitis. The horse improved in response to empiric treatment, but subsequently developed ventral edema, scrotal abscessation, and severe laminitis. Improvement again was seen, but on day 29 of hospitalization, the horse developed rapid heart rate and signs of abdominal pain. Exploratory celiotomy revealed complete obstruction of the descending portion of the duodenum, 20 cm caudal to the duodenal sigmoidal flexure. Three-tier duodenojejunostomy and jejunojejunostomy were performed to bypass the duodenal obstruction.
Caecal intussusceptions in horses and the significance of Anoplocephala perfoliata. A caecocaecal intussusception in a pony and a caecocolic intussusception in a horse, both infected with Anoplocephala perfoliata, are described and the relevance of tapeworms in such intestinal disease of horses is reviewed.
Abdominal auscultation in the detection of experimentally induced gastrointestinal sand accumulation. A blind study was designed to determine if abdominal auscultation is an effective method for detecting the presence of intestinal sand. Fifteen horses divided into two groups were used in the study. There were seven horses in Group 1 and eight horses in Group 2. All horses were auscultated and determined to be free of sand sounds before initiation of Trial 1. Group 1 horses were given 4.2 g/kg body weight of sand via nasogastric tube using carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) as a suspending agent at 9.0 ml/kg body weight. Group 2 horses were given CMC only. Horses remained in the same group through a...
Gastric hyperplastic polyp in a horse. An unusually large, pedunculated (20 cm long) mass arising the gastric pylorus which produced complete obstruction of the proximal duodenum and severe gastric distension was found in a 13-year old castrated male Arabian horse. The histological diagnosis was gastric hyperplastic polyp, which has not been reported previously in the horse. The clinico-pathological findings in this horse are compared with hyperplastic (inflammatory) gastric polyps of man.
Examination of the horse with colic. The purpose of this detailed description of the clinical examination of the colic patient is to arrive at a specific diagnosis. However, this is hardly ever possible, but the practitioner should be in the position to establish the suspicion of an intestinal obstruction or to rule out its presence during the course of the development. Single clinical findings should not be interpreted in isolation but in relation to one another, so that a false diagnosis is not made. All clinical findings should be documented, so that when repeated examinations are carried out, findings can be compared with one...
Initial treatment of colic. This article discusses some of the rationales for the medical management of colic during the initial treatment period. The issue of colic pain control and the masking of clinical signs that may indicate severe gastrointestinal disease is addressed. Therapeutic considerations related to dehydration, metabolic imbalances, hemostatic disorders, antimicrobial therapy, fecal consistency, gastrointestinal decompression, and regulation of intestinal motility are reviewed.
Septicemic salmonellosis and suspected phenylbutazone toxicosis in an aged pony. A 16-year-old pony with signs of intermittent abdominal pain was treated with phenylbutazone in excess of the recommended dosage. Endoscopy revealed ulceration of the esophagus, stomach, and proximal portion of small intestine. The pony developed diarrhea. Salmonella typhimurium was isolated from the blood and feces. Treatment included fluids, trimethoprim-sulfadiazine, sucralfate, and ranitidine hydrochloride. The diarrhea resolved, as did the gastrointestinal ulceration. This case was unusual because septicemia with salmonellosis is an uncommon finding in adult equids. Also, complications co...
Exploratory celiotomy for gastrointestinal disease in neonatal foals: a review of 20 cases. The medical records of 20 neonatal foals in which exploratory celiotomies were performed for gastrointestinal disease were reviewed. In all 20 foals, persistent pain and/or progressive abdominal distension were the primary clinical findings influencing the decision to operate. However, ancilliary laboratory data were important to the proper medical management of these foals during anaesthesia and following surgery. Surgical diagnoses of the 20 foals included ileus (nine foals; 45 per cent), small colon obstruction (five foals; 25 per cent), large colon displacement (three foals; 15 per cent), ...
Results of operative treatment of equine colic with special reference to surgery of the ileum. This retrospective study presents the results of surgical treatment of obstructive colic in horses operated in the last decade (1976-1985). The overall short-term recovery rate (i.e. discharged from hospital) was 51% of cases presented for surgery, and 68% of cases which were considered to be amenable to surgical therapy. For long-term results (6 months-8 years follow up) these percentages must be reduced by about 15% due to mortality after discharge. Special attention has been given to surgery of the ileum, which is often involved in strangulation or obturation, and accounts for about 26% of ...
Laboratory evaluation of malassimilation in horses. Malassimilation should be suspected in horses with weight loss in spite of a good appetite. Malassimilation is usually confirmed with oral glucose or D-xylose absorption tests, whereas the oral lactose tolerance test can be used to evaluate lactase deficiency in foals. Once malassimilation is confirmed, other diagnostic tests such as abdominocentesis, rectal mucosal biopsy, or exploratory laparotomy with intestinal biopsies may determine the etiology of malassimilation.
Ileocolostomy. A technique for surgical management of equine cecal impaction. Several surgical alternatives have been described for the management of cecal impaction in the horse, but none has met with consistently successful results. This study was done to evaluate a surgical bypass of the cecum by anastomosis of the ileum to the right ventral colon (ileocolostomy). A ventral midline celiotomy was performed on nine adult ponies (155-350 kg) and a mechanically stapled 10 cm side-to-side ileocolostomy was created. In five ponies a complete cecal bypass (CCB) was created by transecting the ileum distal to the anastomosis. In the other four, an incomplete cecal bypass (ICB...
Comparison of duodenitis/proximal jejunitis and small intestinal obstruction in horses: 68 cases (1977-1985). Sixty-eight horses with colic caused by small intestinal disease were allotted into 2 groups of 34 on the basis of recorded findings during exploratory celiotomy, necropsy, or response to medical treatment alone. Signalment, history, physical examination findings, and laboratory findings were compared between the group of horses with small intestinal obstruction and the group with duodenitis/proximal jejunitis. A significantly greater proportion of horses with duodenitis/proximal jejunitis were older than 2 years old (P less than 0.05). Differences in sex or breed distribution, or in seasonali...
Jejunocolic anastomosis for the surgical management of recurrent cecal impaction in a horse. A 5-year-old Thoroughbred gelding with recurrent cecal impaction refractory to medical management was treated with a side-to-side jejunocolic anastomosis. Cecal impaction did not recur after surgery. The horse gained weight and performed successfully for 14 months, but experienced three episodes of mild abdominal pain between 14 and 20 months after surgery. Mild cecal gas distention and firm ingesta in the colon were detected on rectal examination. The horse's feces remained soft after surgery, except during the colic episodes when dry, firm feces were passed.
A potential technique error in stapled side-to-side anastomosis of the small intestine of the horse. Anastomotic leakage was noted to occur at the junction of the staple lines used to create the stoma during small intestine side-to-side anastomosis. The anastomosis was performed in a clinical equine patient by joining the lateral surfaces of the intestinal segments using a gastrointestinal anastomosis stapling instrument (GIA). The cause of this problem was investigated by performing six anastomoses in the jejunum of a single anesthetized adult horse using the GIA; three anastomoses were created by joining the antimesenteric edges of the bowel segments and three anastomoses were created by jo...
Diagnostic value of tissue biopsy in gastrointestinal and liver disease. Methods are described for the endoscopic examination and biopsy of the gastrointestinal tract and liver of the dog, cat, ox and horse. The results of the examination of 41 biopsy samples are shown, followed by a discussion of the value of biopsy in the diagnosis of diseases of the digestive tract.
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...
Factors for prognostic use in equine obstructive small intestinal disease. Twenty horses with small intestinal obstructions requiring surgery were evaluated prospectively. Ten horses lived (group 1) and 10 died (group 2). Eight of the horses in group 1 had simple obstruction and 7 of the horses in group 2 had strangulation obstruction. There was a significant difference (P less than 0.001) between the mean intraluminal hydrostatic pressure in horses of groups 1 and 2 (6.3 cm H2O and 15 cm H2O, respectively). The mean peritoneal fluid protein concentration in horses of groups 1 and 2 (2.8 mg/dl and 5.4 mg/dl, respectively) also differed significantly between groups (P...