Abdominal computed radiography for the diagnosis of enterolithiasis in horses: 142 cases (2003?2007).

The article is a study on the effectiveness of abdominal computed radiography (CR) in diagnosing enterolithiasis (presence of stone-like formations) in horses. The research led to the understanding that this diagnostic method has high sensitivity and specificity, but its efficacy can be affected by certain factors such as the size and location of the enteroliths and gas distension in the gastrointestinal tract.

Methodology

• The study used a retrospective case series approach, examining horses that underwent abdominal CR and subsequent exploratory laparotomy or postmortem examination.
• Three reviewers, who were blinded to the horses’ details and diagnoses, separately evaluated the abdominal computed radiographs of the horses. They checked for the presence or absence of enteroliths, the extent of gas distention, and the image quality.
• The definitive diagnosis, based on exploratory laparotomy or postmortem examination findings, was used to ascertain the presence, number, and location of enteroliths in the horses’ medical records.

Results

• Out of the 142 cases reviewed, 58.4% (83/142) had confirmed enterolithiasis.
• The overall sensitivity and specificity of abdominal CR for diagnosing enterolithiasis as judged by the three reviewers were 85% and 93% respectively.
• The sensitivity was lower for small colon enteroliths as compared to large colon enteroliths (50% and 94.5% respectively). It was significantly impacted by the level of gas distention in the horses’ gastrointestinal tracts.
• However, the number of enteroliths did not significantly affect the sensitivity of the diagnostic test.

Conclusions

• Abdominal computed radiography provides high sensitivity and specificity when diagnosing enterolithiasis in horses.
• The research advises caution when radiographic results are negative, given the lower sensitivity for small colon enterolithiasis and the impact of gas distension on the detection of enteroliths.
• Given the findings of the research, abdominal CR is recommended as a diagnostic tool in geographic areas where enterolithiasis in horses is frequently observed.