A Comparison of the Efficacy of Two Omeprazole Formulations in the Treatment of Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome in Racehorses: A Blinded, Randomized Clinical Trial.

This study compares the effectiveness of two omeprazole treatments for equine gastric ulcer syndrome – a common stomach disease in racehorses. The research found both treatments to be similarly effective.

Introduction

• The study aimed to compare the effectiveness of two oral omeprazole formulations – a powder paste and gastro-enteric resistant granules – in treating gastric ulcers in racehorses.
• Omeprazole is commonly used to treat equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS), a prevalent disease in the stomach of horses.
• The study involved a blind, randomized clinical trial to eliminate biasness.

Methodology

• The clinical trial included 32 adult racehorses aged between 2 and 10 years, showing clinical signs of EGUS.
• The horses were evaluated for gastric lesions with two gastroscopies, before and after 28 days of treatment.
• Two of 32 horses were excluded from the trial due to a particular gastric disease called equine squamous gastric disease (ESGD) 1/4.
• The remaining horses were divided into four groups and treated with either of the two omeprazole formulations or with two placebo treatments.
• The observation of the placebo horses was continued even after the T28 gastroscopy control, submitted to the same course of treatment if affected by ESGD or equine glandular gastric disease.

Results

• At the start of the trial, no differences were noted between the groups.
• However, after 28 days, significant differences were observed between the start and end of the treatment for both granules (P = .002) and powder paste (P = .01) formulations.
• No significant differences were detected between the groups receiving omeprazole treatments at T28 (0.34), nor between the beginning and end of treatment for the groups receiving placebo treatments.
• The size of the effects on all variables was greater than 0.5, indicating a substantial impact of both treatments.

Conclusion

• The gastroenteric resistant granules and powder paste omeprazole were similarly effective in treating ESGD.
• The glandular mucosa, however, responded poorly to the treatment with omeprazole.