A retrospective study of fecal output and postprocedure colic in 246 horses undergoing standing sedation with detomidine, or general anesthesia with or without detomidine.
Abstract: To determine time to first passage of feces, total fecal piles and incidence of colic in the first 24 hours postprocedure in horses undergoing standing sedation with detomidine, or general anesthesia with or without detomidine. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: A total of 246 horses. Methods: Records of all horses that underwent standing sedation or general anesthesia between December 2012 and March 2016 were reviewed. Horses aged <6 months, admitted for colic or cesarean section, with inadequate data, and those not administered xylazine and/or detomidine were excluded. Records included patient signalment, fasting duration, procedure performed, drugs administered, time to first feces, number of fecal piles during 24 hours postprocedure and mention of colic. Chi-square, Fisher's exact and Tukey's post hoc comparison tests were used. Parametric data were reported as mean ± standard deviation with significance defined as p <0.05. Results: In total, 116 and 57 horses underwent general anesthesia without detomidine (group GA) and with detomidine (group GA-D), respectively, and remaining 73 horses underwent standing sedation with detomidine (group S-D). Detomidine dose was significantly higher in group S-D than in group GA-D. Time to first feces was longer (7.1 ± 4.2 hours), and group S-D horses passed one fewer fecal pile (6.3 ± 2.4) than group GA horses. There was no interaction between detomidine treatment and preprocedure food withholding and the time to first feces or the number of fecal piles in the first 24 hours postprocedure. Overall, seven horses (2.8%) showed signs of colic (five, one and one in GA, GA-D and S-D, respectively). Conclusions: Detomidine administration, as part of an anesthetic protocol or for standing sedation procedures, should not be expected to contribute to postprocedural colic.
Copyright © 2019 Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists and American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2019-05-04 PubMed ID: 31196750DOI: 10.1016/j.vaa.2019.03.006Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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The research study focuses on examining the impact of a commonly used anesthetic, detomidine, on the bowel habits and incidence of colic in horses post-procedure. The analysis was done on horses that were either standing sedation with detomidine or underwent general anesthesia with or without detomidine.
Methods and Sample
- The investigation used retrospective cohort study methodology, meaning researchers looked backward (retrospectively) and compared two groups of horses to examine potential cause-and-effect relationships.
- The sample size was notable, with 246 horses, whose records from December 2012 through March 2016 were reviewed.
- Several exclusion criteria were established to ensure the study’s validity, including horses younger than 6 months, those admitted for colic or cesarean section, those with incomplete data, and those not administered the specific drugs under study, xylazine and/or detomidine.
Analyses and Results
- Similarly, the statistical analyses used, including Chi-square, Fisher’s exact, and Tukey’s post hoc comparison tests, are common ways of comparing categorical, binary, and multiple group comparisons, respectively.
- The study showed no significant interaction between detomidine treatment, preprocedure fasting, the time to first feces, or the number of fecal piles in the first 24 hours postprocedure.
- The detomidine dose was higher in the group subjected to standing sedation with detomidine than in the group undergoing general anesthesia with detomidine.
- Meanwhile, the time to the first defecation was longer, and one less fecal pile was passed in the 24 hours following the procedure for the standing sedation with detomidine group in comparison to the general anesthesia without detomidine group.
- Colic was noted in a minority of horses across both treatment options (7 out of 246).
Conclusions
- The study ends with a clear conclusion that detomidine, whether used as part of an anesthetic protocol or for standing sedation procedures, seems not to contribute to postprocedural colic in horses.
- This could be significant for veterinarians and horse owners when choosing the most appropriate anesthetic regimen.
Cite This Article
APA
Thibault CJ, Wilson DV, Robertson SA, Sharma D, Kinsley MA.
(2019).
A retrospective study of fecal output and postprocedure colic in 246 horses undergoing standing sedation with detomidine, or general anesthesia with or without detomidine.
Vet Anaesth Analg, 46(4), 458-465.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaa.2019.03.006 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
- Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA. Electronic address: wilsondv@cvm.msu.edu.
- Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice, Lutz, FL, USA.
- Center for Statistical Training and Consulting, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
- Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
MeSH Terms
- Anesthesia / veterinary
- Anesthetics / administration & dosage
- Anesthetics / adverse effects
- Anesthetics / pharmacology
- Animals
- Colic / etiology
- Colic / veterinary
- Conscious Sedation / adverse effects
- Conscious Sedation / veterinary
- Feces
- Female
- Gastrointestinal Motility / physiology
- Horse Diseases / surgery
- Horses
- Imidazoles / administration & dosage
- Imidazoles / pharmacology
- Male
- Postoperative Complications / veterinary
- Retrospective Studies
Citations
This article has been cited 4 times.- Wenzel CJ, Mochal-King CA, Eddy AL, Bowser JE, Wills RW, Jumper WI, Claude A, Swiderski CE. Surgical Assessment and Post-Operative Complications Following Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery (VATS) of Horses with Severe Equine Pasture Asthma During Asthma Exacerbation and Remission. Animals (Basel) 2025 Aug 4;15(15).
- Gough RL, McGovern KF, Bladon BM, Carmichael LA. Caecal dysfunction following standing surgical procedures. Vet Med Sci 2022 Sep;8(5):1930-1935.
- Pezzanite LM, Griffenhagen GM, Krause DM, Hendrickson DA. Retrospective evaluation of association between perioperative antimicrobial protocol and complications following elective equine synovial endoscopy. Vet Med Sci 2021 May;7(3):609-620.
- Morris TB, Lumsden JM, Dunlop CI, Locke V, Sommerauer S, Hurcombe SDA. Clinical Assessment of an Ipsilateral Cervical Spinal Nerve Block for Prosthetic Laryngoplasty in Anesthetized Horses. Front Vet Sci 2020;7:284.
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