Association of clinical signs with endoscopic findings in horses with nasopharyngeal cicatrix syndrome: 118 cases (2003-2008).
Abstract: To characterize the associations between clinical signs of nasopharyngeal cicatrix syndrome (NCS) and endoscopic findings in horses. Methods: Retrospective, case-control study. Methods: 239 horses (118 case horses and 121 control horses). Methods: Medical records of horses that had an endoscopic evaluation of the upper airway performed between January 2003 and December 2008 were reviewed. Clinical signs and the appearance and anatomic locations of lesions identified during endoscopic evaluation were reviewed and recorded for each horse. The associations between clinical signs and endoscopic findings were evaluated by the use of a prospective logistic model that used a Bayesian method for inference and was implemented by a Markov chain Monte Carlo method. Results: Nasal discharge was associated with acute inflammation of the pharynx and larynx. Exercise intolerance was associated with circumferential pharyngeal lesions. Respiratory noise was associated with chronic scarring of the pharynx, a combination of pharyngeal and laryngeal scarring, and circumferential scarring of the pharynx. Respiratory distress was associated with acute inflammation of all portions of the airway, especially when there was preexisting scarring and narrowing of the airway by ≥ 50%. Cough did not have any significant association with NCS, compared with results in control horses. Conclusions: Associations between the endoscopic appearance of NCS lesions and relevant clinical signs will help practitioners identify horses with NCS and allow them to select appropriate treatment.
Publication Date: 2012-03-03 PubMed ID: 22380812DOI: 10.2460/javma.240.6.734Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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The study retrospectively analyses the relationship between observable symptoms and endoscopic findings in horses afflicted with nasopharyngeal cicatrix syndrome (NCS), a respiratory disease. The findings suggest that certain clinical signs such as nasal discharge, exercise intolerance, and respiratory noise or distress are associated with specific endoscopic findings, aiding in the diagnosis and treatment of NCS.
Research Methodology
- The study is a retrospective one, meaning it looks at past cases rather than establishing an experimental study for real-time observation.
- The case-control model used included 118 horses diagnosed with NCS and 121 healthy control horses to draw comparative conclusions.
- The researchers reviewed medical records of horses that had received an endoscopic evaluation of their upper airway between 2003 and 2008.
- The team recorded the appearance and anatomic locations of lesions identified during the endoscopic evaluation for every horse.
- The associations between clinical signs and endoscopic findings were analysed through a sophisticated prospective logistic model using a Bayesian method for inference and Markov chain Monte Carlo method for implementation.
Research Findings
- Nasal discharge was found to be associated with acute inflammation of the pharynx and larynx – two parts of the horse’s throat region.
- Exercise intolerance emerged as a symptom related to circumferential pharyngeal lesions – lesions that surround the pharynx.
- Chronic scarring of the pharynx, a combination of scarring in the pharynx and larynx, and circumferential pharyngeal scarring were associated with respiratory noise.
- Horses showing signs of respiratory distress had acute inflammation in all airway portions, especially when there was preexisting scarring causing more than 50% narrowing of the airway.
- Coughing was not found to significantly correlate with NCS in comparison to the control horses.
Conclusions
- The study findings enable a higher degree of accuracy in diagnosing NCS by establishing associations between clinical signs and endoscopic findings.
- Through these insights, veterinarians are better equipped to recognise NCS and prescribe suitable treatments.
Cite This Article
APA
Norman TE, Chaffin MK, Bisset WT, Thompson JA.
(2012).
Association of clinical signs with endoscopic findings in horses with nasopharyngeal cicatrix syndrome: 118 cases (2003-2008).
J Am Vet Med Assoc, 240(6), 734-739.
https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.240.6.734 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA. tnorman@cvm.tamu.edu
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Cicatrix / pathology
- Cicatrix / veterinary
- Female
- Horse Diseases / pathology
- Horses
- Laryngeal Diseases / pathology
- Laryngeal Diseases / veterinary
- Male
- Nasopharyngeal Diseases / pathology
- Nasopharyngeal Diseases / veterinary
- Retrospective Studies
Citations
This article has been cited 1 times.- Rodríguez N, Whitfield-Cargile CM, Chamoun-Emanuelli AM, Hildreth E, Jordan W, Coleman MC. Nasopharyngeal bacterial and fungal microbiota in normal horses and horses with nasopharyngeal cicatrix syndrome. J Vet Intern Med 2021 Nov;35(6):2897-2911.
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