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Home / Equine Research Bank / J Vet Intern Med / Association Between Necropsy Evidence of Disseminated Intrav...
Journal of veterinary internal medicine2015; 30(1); 269-275; doi: 10.1111/jvim.13659

Association Between Necropsy Evidence of Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation and Hemostatic Variables Before Death in Horses With Colic.

Abstract: Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is frequent in horses with severe gastrointestinal disorders. Postmortem studies have found fibrin microthrombi in tissues of these horses, but studies relating these histopathological findings with antemortem hemostatic data are lacking. Objective: Antemortem classification of coagulopathy is related to the presence and severity of fibrin deposits observed postmortem in horses with severe gastrointestinal disorders. Methods: Antemortem hemostatic profile data and postmortem tissue samples (kidney, lung, liver) from 48 horses with colic. Methods: Tissue samples were stained with phosphotungstic acid hematoxylin and immunohistochemical methods for histological examination. A fibrin score (grades 0-4) was assigned for each technique, tissue and horse, as well as the presence or absence of DIC at postmortem examination. D-dimer concentration, prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), and antithrombin (AT) activity, as well as the clinicopathological evidence of coagulopathy, were determined from plasma samples collected 0-24 hours before death or euthanasia. Histologic and clinicopathologic data from the same horses were compared retrospectively. Results: No association was found between antemortem classification of coagulopathy and postmortem diagnosis of DIC based on tissue fibrin deposition. None of the hemostatic parameters was significantly different between horses with or without postmortem diagnosis of DIC. There was no association between horses with fibrin in tissues or different cut-offs for D-dimer concentration and postmortem evidence of DIC. Conclusions: Abnormalities of the routine clotting profile, including D-dimer concentration, were not useful in predicting histologic evidence of DIC at necropsy in horses with severe gastrointestinal disorders.
Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.
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Publication Date: 2015-11-18 PubMed ID: 26581617PubMed Central: PMC4913647DOI: 10.1111/jvim.13659Google 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.

This study examined whether clinical signs of clotting problems in horses with severe gastrointestinal disorders could predict the occurrence of a specific clotting disorder identified at autopsy. However, it found that usual clotting tests, including measuring the D-dimer concentration, were not predictive of this disorder.

Objective and Methods

  • The researchers aimed to understand whether clinical diagnosis of coagulopathy (abnormal clotting) corresponds to the post-mortem identification of fibrin (a protein that forms blood clots) deposits observed in horses suffering from severe gastrointestinal disorders.
  • They studied data related to antemortem (before death) hemostatic profile and postmortem tissue samples from 48 horses suffering from colic—a common gastrointestinal disorder in horses.
  • Methods applied included staining and histological examination of tissue samples from vital organs (kidney, lung, liver) of the diseased horses. The process used phosphotungstic acid hematoxylin stains and immunohistochemical methods.
  • A fibrin score was assigned for each staining technique, tissue sample, and horse, indicating the severity of fibrin deposition. These scores correlated to either the presence or absence of DIC (Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation)—a critical condition causing abnormal clotting and bleeding simultaneously.
  • The researchers also quantified several hemostatic parameters (D-dimer concentration, PT, aPTT, AT activity) from plasma samples collected from these horses within 24 hours before their death or euthanasia. These parameters shed light on the horse’s coagulation status and potential abnormalities.

Results and Conclusion

  • The study findings indicate no association between the antemortem classification of coagulopathy and postmortem diagnosis of DIC based on tissue fibrin deposition.
  • No significant differences were observed in the hemostatic parameters between horses with or without a postmortem diagnosis of DIC.
  • The study also revealed no link between horses with fibrin in tissues or various D-dimer concentration cut-offs and postmortem evidence of DIC.
  • In conclusion, the study suggests that routine clotting profile+ abnormalities, including D-dimer concentration, are not useful in predicting histologic evidence of DIC at autopsy in horses with severe gastrointestinal disorders. This conclusion underscores the need for more advanced or different diagnostic methods for predicting DIC in horses.

Cite This Article

APA
Cesarini C, Cotovio M, Ríos J, Armengou L, Jose-Cunilleras E. (2015). Association Between Necropsy Evidence of Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation and Hemostatic Variables Before Death in Horses With Colic. J Vet Intern Med, 30(1), 269-275. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.13659

Publication

Journal of veterinary internal medicine
ISSN: 1939-1676
NlmUniqueID: 8708660
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 30
Issue: 1
Pages: 269-275

Researcher Affiliations

Cesarini, C
  • Servei de Medicina Interna Equina, Fundació Hospital Clínic Veterinari and Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals, Facultat de Veterinària, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Cotovio, M
  • CECAV, Centro de Ciência Animal e Veterinária and Departamento de Ciências Veterinárias, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Quinta de Prados, 5000-801, Vila Real, Portugal.
Ríos, J
  • Laboratory of Biostatistics & Epidemiology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; Statistics and Methodology Support Unit, IDIBAPS, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain.
Armengou, L
  • Servei de Medicina Interna Equina, Fundació Hospital Clínic Veterinari and Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals, Facultat de Veterinària, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Jose-Cunilleras, E
  • Servei de Medicina Interna Equina, Fundació Hospital Clínic Veterinari and Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals, Facultat de Veterinària, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Colic / blood
  • Colic / complications
  • Colic / mortality
  • Colic / veterinary
  • Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation / blood
  • Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation / complications
  • Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation / veterinary
  • Female
  • Fibrin / metabolism
  • Horse Diseases / blood
  • Horse Diseases / mortality
  • Horse Diseases / pathology
  • Horses
  • Male

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Citations

This article has been cited 3 times.
  1. Satué K, Gardon JC, Muñoz A. Clinical and laboratorial description of the differential diagnoses of hemostatic disorders in the horse. Iran J Vet Res 2020 Winter;21(1):1-8.
    pubmed: 32368218
  2. Schliewert EC, Hooijberg EH, Goddard A. Experimental infection of horses with African horse sickness virus results in overt disseminated intravascular coagulation. Equine Vet J 2026 Mar;58(2):619-629.
    doi: 10.1002/evj.70134pubmed: 41572601google scholar: lookup
  3. Silva G, Queiroga FL, Cruz Z, Maia A, Silvestre-Ferreira AC. Coagulation Profile of the Healthy Miranda's Donkey. Animals (Basel) 2024 Jul 10;14(14).
    doi: 10.3390/ani14142031pubmed: 39061493google scholar: lookup
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