Assessing gastrointestinal motility in healthy horses comparing auscultation, ultrasonography and an acoustic gastrointestinal surveillance biosensor: a randomised, blinded, controlled crossover proof of principle study.
Abstract: Auscultation and ultrasonography are noninvasive techniques used to assess gastrointestinal motility in horses. Recently, noninvasive acoustic gastrointestinal surveillance (AGIS) biosensors evaluating intestinal motility have been validated in humans. Objective: To compare AGIS to auscultation and ultrasonography for detecting decreased motility after xylazine administration. Methods: Randomised, blinded, controlled cross-over proof of principle study. Methods: Six healthy horses were evaluated under fasted and nonfasted conditions and randomly assigned to receive treatment with 0.4 mg/kg xylazine or an equivalent volume of 0.9% NaCl intravenously. After a 48-h washout period, the process was repeated with the alternate treatment. Motility was assessed pre and posttreatment. Borborygmi were assessed in each abdominal quadrant and graded on a scale of 0-3, with 3 being continuous borborygmi. Duodenal, jejunal and caecal contractions were assessed ultrasonographically in consistent locations. Four AGIS biosensors were applied in standardised locations (duodenum, caecum, ventral midline, right dorsal colon). The biosensors measure acoustic signals and data were recorded in transport metric. Data were analysed using cross-classified multilevel random effects logistic regression including area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC ROC). Sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were calculated for each modality. Results: All three modalities detected a reduction in gastrointestinal motility following xylazine administration with AUC ROC being 0.85, 0.84 and 0.86 for auscultation, ultrasonography and AGIS respectively. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy for auscultation was 88, 71 and 75%; for ultrasonography was 67, 63 and 64%; and for AGIS was 69, 70 and 70%, respectively. Conclusions: The study was performed in normal healthy horses and application of this device to clinical patients warrants further investigation. Conclusions: In this proof of principle study, AGIS was able to discriminate between horses given xylazine from those given 0.9% NaCl with comparable accuracy as auscultation and ultrasonography. The Summary is available in Spanish - see Supporting Information.
© 2018 EVJ Ltd.
Publication Date: 2018-08-06 PubMed ID: 29975422DOI: 10.1111/evj.12990Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Clinical Trial
- Veterinary
- Journal Article
Summary
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The research article examines the effectiveness of auscultation, ultrasonography, and acoustic gastrointestinal surveillance (AGIS) biosensors in assessing gastrointestinal motility in horses, particularly after the administration of xylazine.
Objective and Methods
- The study aimed to compare three methods of assessing gastrointestinal motility in horses – auscultation, ultrasonography, and AGIS biosensors. The research degree was centered around vetting AGIS biosensors that have been validated in humans.
- The study was randomised, blinded, and controlled, involving six healthy horses evaluated under fasted and nonfasted conditions. The horses were randomly assigned to receive treatment with either 0.4 mg/kg xylazine or equal volume of 0.9% NaCl intravenously.
- After a 48-hour washout period, the process was repeated using the alternate treatment. The motility was assessed pre and post-treatment utilising all three methods.
Assessment and Results
- In the study, borborygmi (the sound made by the movement of fluid and gas in the intestines) in each abdominal quadrant were assessed and graded on a scale of 0 to 3. Duodenal, jejunal and caecal contractions were assessed ultrasonographically in consistent locations, whereas AGIS biosensors were applied in standard positions.
- The results from the AGIS biosensors, which measure acoustic signals, were recorded in transport metric and data were analysed using a cross-classified multilevel random effects logistic regression.
- All three methods detected a reduction in gastrointestinal motility after xylazine administration with almost equal AUC ROC (Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve) which was 0.85, 0.84, and 0.86 for auscultation, ultrasonography, and AGIS respectively.
- In terms of sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy, auscultation showed results of 88%, 71%, and 75%, respectively. Ultrasonography had a sensitivity of 67%, specificity of 63%, and accuracy of 64%. AGIS registered a sensitivity of 69%, specificity of 70%, and accuracy of 70%.
Conclusion
- The study was performed in normal healthy horses and application of this device to clinical patients warrants further investigation.
- AGIS was able to discriminate between horses given xylazine from those given 0.9% NaCl with comparable accuracy as auscultation and ultrasonography. Thus suggesting that the AGIS method is as effective as the other two for assessing decreased gastrointestinal motility in horses.
Cite This Article
APA
VanderBroek AR, Reef VB, Aitken MR, Stefanovski D, Southwood LL.
(2018).
Assessing gastrointestinal motility in healthy horses comparing auscultation, ultrasonography and an acoustic gastrointestinal surveillance biosensor: a randomised, blinded, controlled crossover proof of principle study.
Equine Vet J, 51(2), 246-251.
https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.12990 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Clinical Studies, New Bolton Center, University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, USA.
- Department of Clinical Studies, New Bolton Center, University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, USA.
- Department of Clinical Studies, New Bolton Center, University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, USA.
- Department of Clinical Studies, New Bolton Center, University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, USA.
- Department of Clinical Studies, New Bolton Center, University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, USA.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Auscultation / veterinary
- Biosensing Techniques / instrumentation
- Biosensing Techniques / veterinary
- Cross-Over Studies
- Female
- Gastrointestinal Motility / drug effects
- Gastrointestinal Tract / diagnostic imaging
- Gastrointestinal Tract / drug effects
- Horses
- Male
- Random Allocation
- Ultrasonography / veterinary
- Xylazine / pharmacology
Grant Funding
- Raymond Firestone Trust Research Grant
Citations
This article has been cited 2 times.- Ekstrand C, Michanek P, Gehring R, Sundell A, Källse A, Hedeland M, Ström L. Plasma atropine concentrations associated with decreased intestinal motility in horses.. Front Vet Sci 2022;9:951300.
- Jansson A, Harris P, Davey SL, Luthersson N, Ragnarsson S, Ringmark S. Straw as an Alternative to Grass Forage in Horses-Effects on Post-Prandial Metabolic Profile, Energy Intake, Behaviour and Gastric Ulceration.. Animals (Basel) 2021 Jul 24;11(8).
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