A retrospective study of bronchoalveolar lavage cytology in horses with clinical findings of small airway disease.
Abstract: A retrospective of 69 bronchoalveolar lavages (BAL) on horses was done to investigate the relationship between bronchoalveolar cell types and clinical signs in horses with small airway disease. Horses were grouped according to clinical findings. The groups were as follows: I. cough only (n = 14), II. cough with mucopurulent secretions in the trachea (n = 14), III. cough, mucopurulent secretions in the trachea and abnormal lung sounds (n = 24) and IV., all of the above plus dyspnea at rest (n = 17). An asymptomatic group was formed from horses in the same population to serve as control (n = 8). There was a significant difference between cytological profiles of asymptomatic horses and the symptomatic group horses, indicating that BAL findings are different when clinical manifestations of the disease are present. Furthermore, neutrophil counts increased as the severity of clinical signs increased from group I to IV. Some variations of other cell types such as mast cells were also reported. Though a significant increase in neutrophils was predictable in dyspneic horses, there was an absence of typical cytological pictures for the other symptomatic but non-dyspneic groups of horses. This study concludes that BAL is a useful diagnostic tool which allows further characterisation of inflammatory processes when clinical signs if small airway disease are apparent.
Publication Date: 1991-07-01 PubMed ID: 1950237DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0442.1991.tb01036.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
- Airway Disease
- Bronchoalveolar Lavage
- Clinical Findings
- Clinical Pathology
- Clinical Signs
- Cytology
- Diagnosis
- Disease Diagnosis
- Equine Diseases
- Equine Health
- Horses
- Inflammation
- Lung Health
- Mast Cells
- Neutrophils
- Pathophysiology
- Respiratory Disease
- Retrospective Study
- Veterinary Medicine
- Veterinary Research
- White Blood Cells
Summary
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This study analyzes the components of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) in horses with symptoms of small airway disease to understand the correlation between the cytologies and clinical findings. It identified significant variations in cell types between asymptomatic and symptomatic horses, emphasizing how these findings can guide diagnosis and characterization of the inflammation processes involved in small airway disease.
Methodology
- The study was a retrospective analysis of 69 bronchoalveolar lavages (BAL) taken from horses.
- Horses were classified into groups based on their clinical symptoms. Group I consisted of horses with only a cough; Group II included those with a cough and mucopurulent secretions in the trachea; Group III horses showed a cough, mucopurulent secretions, and abnormal lung sounds; Group IV included horses that exhibited all symptoms noted before, in addition to dyspnea at rest.
- An asymptomatic group of horses from the same population served as the control group.
Results
- The study found a significant difference between the cytological profiles of the asymptomatic horses compared to the symptomatic horses. This evidenced that the BAL cells’ characteristics vary when clinical signs of the diseases are present.
- The count of neutrophils (a type of white blood cell) increased in correspondence with the severity of clinical signs, escalating from Group I to Group IV.
- Variations in other cell types, such as mast cells, were also reported.
- Contrary to predictions, the symptomatic but non-dyspneic groups of horses did not demonstrate typical cytological patterns, although an increase in neutrophils was expected in dyspneic horses.
Conclusion
- The study ended by emphasizing that BAL is a helpful diagnostic tool, particularly in further explaining the inflammatory processes when clinical signs of small airway disease are apparent.
- However, the absence of expected cytological changes in non-dyspneic but symptomatic groups implies that the disease’s clinical manifestations may not consistently match cellular changes in the airway fluid.
Cite This Article
APA
Vrins A, Doucet M, Nunez-Ochoa L.
(1991).
A retrospective study of bronchoalveolar lavage cytology in horses with clinical findings of small airway disease.
Zentralbl Veterinarmed A, 38(6), 472-479.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0442.1991.tb01036.x Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Département de Médecine, Faculté de Médecine vétérinaire, Université de Montréal.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Breeding
- Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / cytology
- Cell Count / veterinary
- Horse Diseases / diagnosis
- Horses
- Lung Diseases, Obstructive / diagnosis
- Lung Diseases, Obstructive / veterinary
- Retrospective Studies
Citations
This article has been cited 2 times.- Padoan E, Ferraresso S, Pegolo S, Barnini C, Castagnaro M, Bargelloni L. Gene Expression Profiles of the Immuno-Transcriptome in Equine Asthma. Animals (Basel) 2022 Dec 20;13(1).
- Di Pietro R, Dubuc V, Manguin E, Giroux-Lafond R, Bédard C, Boivin R, Lavoie JP, Vesper SJ, Leclere M. Characterization of fungal exposure and dectin-1 expression in healthy horses and horses with severe asthma. Am J Vet Res 2022 May 8;83(6).
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