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Home / Equine Research Bank / Equine Vet J / Antimicrobial prophylaxis is not indicated for horses underg...
Equine veterinary journal2023; 56(3); 475-483; doi: 10.1111/evj.13978

Antimicrobial prophylaxis is not indicated for horses undergoing general anaesthesia for elective orthopaedic MRI.

Abstract: Post-anaesthetic fever is a known complication of general anaesthesia, however, its incidence in horses undergoing elective magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is unknown. Objective: To determine the incidence of post-anaesthetic fever in horses undergoing elective orthopaedic MRI and determine whether prophylactic antimicrobial therapy would be associated with a reduction in the incidence of post-anaesthetic fever. We hypothesised that prophylactic antimicrobials would be associated with a reduction in the incidence of post-anaesthetic fever. Methods: Retrospective cross-sectional study. Methods: This retrospective study included 791 elective orthopaedic MRIs in systemically healthy horses between June 2006 and March 2020 that recovered from general anaesthesia and did not undergo surgery or intensive medical therapy soon after recovery. Potential factors associated with post-anaesthetic fever were evaluated using multivariable logistic regression. Case signalment, travel time, preanaesthetic haematology and fibrinogen abnormalities, use of prophylactic antimicrobials, peri-anaesthetic nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories, anaesthesia time and recovery time were all evaluated for association with post-anaesthetic fever. Results: Of 791 MRI cases, 44 (5.6%) developed a post-anaesthetic fever. Horses that received prophylactic antimicrobials were [odds ratio (OR) 3.8, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.98-7.46; p ≤ 0.001] more likely to develop a post-anaesthetic fever than those that did not receive antimicrobials. Young horses (1-4 years of age) were (OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.26-6.17; p = 0.01) more likely to develop fever compared with adult horses (≥5 years of age). Conclusions: Limitations of this study pertain to retrospective analysis including nonrandomised case selection and incomplete data records. Conclusions: While fever may indicate infection, the majority of early post-anaesthetic fevers resolved before discharge from the hospital with no identified cause. The use of prophylactic antimicrobials to reduce the risk of post-anaesthetic fever for elective MRI is not supported by this study. Unassigned: Febre é uma complicação comum após anestesia geral. Contudo, a incidência de febre em cavalos submetidos à ressonância magnética (RM) é desconhecida. Objective: Determinar a incidência de febre pós‐anestésica em cavalos submetidos à RM devido à lesões ortopédicas e determinar se terapia antimicrobiana é necessária para reduzir a incidência de febre pós‐anestésica. Nossa hipótese é que o uso de antimicrobianos é associado com a redução da incidência de febre pós‐anestésica. Unassigned: Estudo retrospectivo transversal. Methods: Esse estudo retrospectivo incluiu 791 equinos submetidos à RM por motivos ortopédicos, entre Junho de 2006 e Março de 2020, que recuperaram de anestesia geral, e não foram submetidos à cirurgia ou terapia intensa logo após a recuperação. Fatores que potencialmente poderiam ser associados com febre pós‐anestésica foram avaliados utilizando regressão logística multivariada. Informações do paciente, como sexo e idade, tempo de viagem, anormalidades nos exames de sangue (hemograma e bioquímico) pré‐anestésico, uso profilático de antimicrobianos, uso de anti‐inflamatório não‐esteroidal no período peri‐anestésico, tempo de anestesia, e tempo de recuperação foram avaliados para possível associação com febre pós‐anestésica. Results: Dos 791 casos de RM, 44 (5.6%) desenvolveram febre pós‐anestésica. Cavalos que receberam terapia antimicrobiana profilática foram (OR 3.8, 95% CI 1.98–7.46; p ≤ 0.001) vezes mais prováveis de desenvolverem febre pós‐anestésica do que aqueles que não receberam antimicrobianos. Cavalos jovens (1–4 anos de idade) foram OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.26–6.17; p = 0.01) vezes mais prováveis de desenvolverem febre comparado com cavalos adultos (≥5 anos de idade). PRINCIPAIS LIMITAÇÕES: As limitações deste estudo são aquelas de uma análise retrospectiva, incluindo a seleção não randomizada dos pacientes e prontuários incompletos. CONCLUSÕES: Enquanto febre pode indicar a presença de infecção, a maioria das febres no período logo após anestesia se resolveram antes da alta do hospital e não tiveram nenhuma causa identificada. O uso profilático de antimicrobianos para reduzir a possível chance de febre pós‐anestésica em casos de RM eletiva não é suportada por este estudo.
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Publication Date: 2023-08-02 PubMed ID: 37531950DOI: 10.1111/evj.13978Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

Background:

  • After general anesthesia, there’s a known complication where horses can develop a fever. This is called “post-anaesthetic fever.”
  • There’s uncertainty about how often this fever happens in horses after they’ve had magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) – a type of imaging test.

Objective:

  • The study aimed to find out how often horses develop a fever after getting anesthesia for an MRI.
  • It also wanted to see if giving horses antibiotics (known as “prophylactic antimicrobial therapy”) beforehand would reduce the chances of this fever.
  • The researchers believed (or “hypothesised”) that giving antibiotics would decrease the chances of the fever happening.

Study Design:

The study is a “Retrospective cross-sectional study.” This means researchers looked back at past records/data instead of setting up a new experiment or trial.

Methods:

  • The study looked at records from 791 horses that had MRIs between June 2006 and March 2020.
  • These were healthy horses that woke up from general anesthesia and didn’t have surgery or intensive medical treatment right after.
  • They examined many factors to see if they were linked to the post-anesthesia fever. This included the horse’s age, how long they traveled, blood test results before anesthesia, use of antibiotics, use of anti-inflammatory drugs, how long they were under anesthesia, and how long they took to wake up.

Results:

  • Out of the 791 MRI cases, 44 horses (5.6%) developed a fever afterward.
  • Horses given antibiotics beforehand were 3.8 times more likely to get the fever than those not given antibiotics.
  • Young horses (1-4 years old) were 2.8 times more likely to get the fever than older horses (5 years or older).

Main Limitations:

  • The study’s limitations include the fact that it’s looking back at past records (which can be incomplete or biased) and that the cases weren’t randomly selected.

Conclusions:

  • Even though fever can be a sign of infection, most horses that had this post-anesthesia fever got better before leaving the hospital, and no specific cause for the fever was found.
  • The idea of giving horses antibiotics to reduce the chance of getting a fever after an MRI isn’t supported by the study’s findings.

In simpler terms, the study found that a small percentage of horses develop a fever after getting an MRI. Surprisingly, horses given preventative antibiotics were more likely to get this fever. The study suggests that it might not be helpful to give horses antibiotics to prevent this post-anesthesia fever.

Cite This Article

APA
Hoblick S, Denagamage TN, Morton AJ, McCarrel TM. (2023). Antimicrobial prophylaxis is not indicated for horses undergoing general anaesthesia for elective orthopaedic MRI. Equine Vet J, 56(3), 475-483. https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.13978

Publication

Equine veterinary journal
ISSN: 2042-3306
NlmUniqueID: 0173320
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 56
Issue: 3
Pages: 475-483

Researcher Affiliations

Hoblick, Sloane
  • Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
Denagamage, Thomas N
  • Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
Morton, Alison J
  • Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
McCarrel, Taralyn M
  • Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, Gainesville, Florida, USA.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Horses
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Orthopedics
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Horse Diseases / diagnostic imaging
  • Horse Diseases / prevention & control
  • Horse Diseases / etiology
  • Anesthesia, General / adverse effects
  • Anesthesia, General / veterinary
  • Anti-Infective Agents
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging / veterinary
  • Fever / veterinary
  • Anesthetics

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Citations

This article has been cited 2 times.
  1. Hepworth-Warren KL, Love K. Survey of the approach to the diagnosis and management of bacterial pneumonia in adult horses by equine veterinarians. Front Vet Sci 2024;11:1484970.
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  2. Manning H, Sampson S. Peri-anaesthetic complications in 1798 equids undergoing high-field elective orthopaedic MRI at a tertiary referral hospital. Equine Vet J 2025 May;57(3):666-673.
    doi: 10.1111/evj.14208pubmed: 39143703google scholar: lookup
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