Clinical and diagnostic findings, treatment, and short- and long-term survival in horses with peritonitis: 72 cases (2007-2017).

The research is a retrospective study of 72 horses diagnosed with peritonitis from 2007 to 2017, focusing on understanding its causes, clinical findings, diagnostic results, treatment, and both short and long-term survival outcomes.

Methods Utilized

• The study involved a comprehensive review of medical records from the period 2007 to 2017 at the William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.
• Horses that were included in the study had a peritoneal nucleated cell count of ≥25 000 cells/μL, a standard deployed to diagnose peritonitis – an inflammation of the peritoneum, the tissue that lines the inner wall of the abdomen and covers most of the abdominal organs.
• Cases where peritonitis developed due to gastrointestinal rupture, abdominal surgery, or castration were excluded from the study.
• Information collected from the records included the horse’s general details, history, clinicopathological and peritoneal fluid variables, results of diagnostic imaging, the underlying cause of the peritonitis, treatment delivered, and short- and long-term survival outcomes.
• The collected data was then analyzed using Fisher’s exact test, Wilcoxon rank sum test, and a chi-square test. A p-value of less than .05 was considered statistically significant.

Findings of the Study

• Among the symptoms, colic was found to be the most common initial complaint observed in 48% of the cases.
• In 61% of the total cases, a definitive diagnosis was possible. An exact cause for peritonitis could be identified, with infectious agents being the most common. This was followed by trauma, gastrointestinal thickening, and eosinophilic peritonitis. However, in 39% of the cases, the cause remained unknown, which were classified as cases of idiopathic peritonitis.
• In terms of survival rates, 83% of the horses managed to survive until discharge from the hospital. Long-term follow-up data was only available for 49 horses, among which 88% were alive one year after discharge.
• Factors such as a history of colic, a positive peritoneal fluid culture, and several hematological/peritoneal fluid variables showed significant differences between non-survivors and survivors.

Conclusions and Implications of the Study

• The study concludes that analysis of peritoneal fluid was vital for making a definitive diagnosis of peritonitis, and certain variables in the fluid could provide useful information to predict the patient’s outcome.
• The results demonstrated the significance of peritoneal fluid analysis in accurately identifying peritonitis, predicting the patient’s prognosis, and ensuring successful treatment.