Antimicrobial use in horses undergoing colic surgery.

The research article explores how antibiotics are used in horses going through emergency colic surgery, finding that many were given incorrect preoperative doses and that an improvement in compliance with guidelines could lead to less post-operative complications.

Article Overview

This research focuses on the evaluation of antibiotics use in horses that undergo emergency colic surgery. The study aims to figure out if the inconsistencies in administering antibiotics could be linked to post-surgery complications such as fever, inflammation, infection, catheter-related problems, or Salmonella transmission during the hospitalization period.

Methodology

• The study involves retrospective case reviews of medical records from 761 horses that underwent emergency colic surgery between the years 2001 to 2007.
• Key data collected includes the dosage and timing of antibiotics administration, surgical duration, and duration of treatment.
• A statistical approach was used, employing rank-sum methods and logistic regression to analyze the relationship between antimicrobial usage and the occurrence of postoperative complications.

Findings

• The results reveal that 67.2% of the horses were administered an inappropriate dosage of antibiotics before surgery.
• The average time from when the antibiotic was given till the incision was around 70 minutes; the median total surgery time was 110 minutes.
• Among the surveyed horses, 438 of them should have been given the antibiotic again during surgery based on its duration, but only 1.8% were redosed effectively.
• Horses typically remained on antibiotics for about 3 days after operation.
• It was found that treatment was reinstated in 28.9% of the horses with the primary symptoms being fever and inflammation or infection of the surgical wound.
• Treatment reinstated horses had 2.3 times higher chance of Salmonella shedding, and an increased surgical time was linked to longer durations of antimicrobial therapy.

Conclusion

The findings of the study suggest a general non-compliance with prescribed guidelines on administering antibiotics in horses undergoing colic surgery. Greater attention to these protocols could possibly bring about a significant reduction in post-surgery complications. The research indicates the need for better antibiotic prophylaxis for such veterinary practices.