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Blood lactate concentrations in ponies and miniature horses with gastrointestinal disease.
Abstract: Clinical impression suggested that pony and miniature breeds (collectively referred to as ponies) presenting to a referral hospital for investigation of gastrointestinal disease had higher blood lactate concentrations on admission than large breed horses. Objective: The study tested the hypothesis that ponies with gastrointestinal disease had higher blood lactate concentrations on admission than large breed horses with similar disease severity. Methods: Retrospective case-control study. Methods: Medical records from September 2006 to July 2011 were reviewed for ponies with a primary presenting complaint of gastrointestinal disease. Two larger breed horses with gastrointestinal disease were selected as controls for each case. Data collected included case details, historical and clinicopathological findings, diagnosis and outcome. Results: Information was collected on 50 ponies and 100 horses. Ponies had higher mean ± s.d. respiratory rates (27 ± 13 vs. 21 ± 13 beats/min; P = 0.01) and rectal temperatures (37.9 ± 0.6 vs. 37.4 ± 0.6°C; P = 0.006) and a longer median duration of clinical signs prior to presentation (10 h [1-72 h] vs. 6 h [1-120]; P<0.001). Median blood lactate concentrations on admission were higher in ponies than in horses (2.8 mmol/l [0.7-18.0] vs. 1.6 mmol/l [0.4-8.1]; P = 0.001). All other parameters relating to colic severity were not significantly different between groups, although more horses underwent exploratory laparotomy (19/50 ponies and 55/100 horses; P = 0.05). Median blood lactate concentrations in ponies with large intestinal disease, nonstrangulating lesions, undergoing medical treatment and surviving ponies were significantly higher than in horses in the same category. In contrast to horses, no differences in blood lactate concentrations exist between ponies with medical vs. surgical treatment, strangulating and nonstrangulating lesions and surviving and nonsurviving ponies. Conclusions: Ponies might present with higher blood lactate concentrations than horses and might falsely be suspected of having a surgical lesion or a poorer prognosis if veterinarians are not aware of breed differences.
© 2013 EVJ Ltd.
Publication Date: 2013-03-04 PubMed ID: 23451985DOI: 10.1111/evj.12043Google Scholar: Lookup The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- Journal Article
Summary
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This study investigates the differences in blood lactate concentrations in pony and miniature breeds compared to larger breed horses when presented with gastrointestinal disease. The findings suggest that ponies may have higher blood lactate levels than large breed horses when suffering from similar diseases, which could lead to misdiagnosis or skewed prognosis.
Research Objective and Hypothesis
- The research was designed to test the hypothesis that ponies suffering from gastrointestinal disease exhibit higher blood lactate concentrations at the time of hospital admission than larger breed horses with similar disease severity.
Methods
- The study was conducted as a retrospective case-control study, using medical records from September 2006 to July 2011 of cases where the primary presenting complaint was gastrointestinal disease.
- For each case of a pony or miniature breed (the case), two larger breed horses with gastrointestinal disease were selected as controls. Data such as case details, historical and clinicopathological findings, diagnosis, and outcome were collected.
Results
- Information from 50 pony cases and 100 horse controls was collected. The findings showed that the ponies had higher respiratory rates and rectal temperatures, and exhibited clinical signs for a longer duration compared to the horses.
- Ponies also showed significantly higher median blood lactate levels at the time of admission compared to horses. However, all other parameters relating to disease severity didn’t show significant differences between ponies and horses.
- Although more horses underwent exploratory laparotomy, the median blood lactate concentrations in ponies were found to be higher, even in instances of large intestinal disease, nonstrangulating lesions, undergoing medical treatment, and among surviving ponies when compared to respective categories of horses.
- Unlike horses, no differences in blood lactate levels were observed in ponies based on the type of treatment (medical vs. surgical), type of lesion (strangulating vs. nonstrangulating), and survival status (surviving vs. nonsurviving).
Conclusion
- The study concluded that ponies might tend to present with higher blood lactate concentrations compared to horses when suffering from gastrointestinal disease. This could lead to erroneous conclusions about the need for surgical intervention or a poor prognosis if veterinarians don’t consider the breed differences.
Cite This Article
APA
Dunkel B, Kapff JE, Naylor RJ, Boston R.
(2013).
Blood lactate concentrations in ponies and miniature horses with gastrointestinal disease.
Equine Vet J, 45(6), 666-670.
https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.12043 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, The Royal Veterinary College, UK.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Body Size
- Case-Control Studies
- Gastrointestinal Diseases / blood
- Gastrointestinal Diseases / veterinary
- Horse Diseases / blood
- Horses
- Lactic Acid / blood
- Retrospective Studies
Citations
This article has been cited 5 times.- Martín-Cuervo M, Gracia-Calvo LA, Macías-García B, Ezquerra LJ, Barrera R. Evaluation of Eosinopenia as a SIRS Biomarker in Critically Ill Horses. Animals (Basel) 2022 Dec 15;12(24).
- Dunkel B, Knowles EJ, Chang YM, Menzies-Gow NJ. Influence of endocrine disease on l-lactate concentrations in blood of ponies. J Vet Intern Med 2021 May;35(3):1582-1588.
- Witkowska-Piłaszewicz O, Cywińska A, Michlik-Połczyńska K, Czopowicz M, Strzelec K, Biazik A, Parzeniecka-Jaworska M, Crisman M, Witkowski L. Variations in haematological and biochemical parameters in healthy ponies. BMC Vet Res 2021 Jan 19;17(1):38.
- DeNotta SL, Divers TJ. Clinical Pathology in the Adult Sick Horse: The Gastrointestinal System and Liver. Vet Clin North Am Equine Pract 2020 Apr;36(1):105-120.
- Dunkel B, Knowles EJ, Chang YM, Menzies-Gow NJ. Correlation between l-lactate and glucose concentrations and body condition score in healthy horses and ponies. J Vet Intern Med 2019 Sep;33(5):2267-2271.
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