Clinicopathologic evidence of disseminated intravascular coagulation in horses with acute colitis.

This research evaluates the presence of subclinical Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC) in horses affected by acute colitis. The study reveals that there is a substantial correlation between the diagnosis of subclinical DIC and the poor outcome or complication occurrence in horses suffering from acute colitis.

Objective and Methods

• The research was conducted to identify the presence of subclinical DIC (a condition affecting the blood’s ability to clot) in horses suffering from acute colitis (inflammation of the colon).
• A total of 37 horses with acute colitis, admitted to a veterinary teaching hospital, were enlisted for the study.
• The researchers performed six tests on each horse at three different intervals: at admission, 24 hours after admission, and 48 hours after admission.
• The six tests included measuring platelet count, plasma fibrinogen concentration, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, antithrombin activity, and serum fibrin degradation products concentration.

Results and Conclusions

• The researchers diagnosed subclinical DIC in a horse if three of the six tests showed abnormal results during any single sample period. None of the horses showed visible signs of DIC during sampling.
• Of the 37 horses, 12 (approximately 32%) met the criteria for subclinical DIC diagnosis over the period of a year.
• The outcome was defined as survival or non-survival. Out of the 12 horses diagnosed with subclinical DIC, five didn’t survive. In contrast, only 2 out of the 25 horses without the subclinical DIC diagnosis didn’t survive.
• The calculated odds ratio suggested that a horse with acute colitis was eight times more likely to face death or euthanasia if diagnosed with subclinical DIC.
• Based on their findings, the researchers concluded that clinical pathological evidence of DIC is quite common and is noticeably associated with poor outcomes in horses with acute colitis.
• They suggested that treating subclinical DIC could possibly influence the eventual outcome in horses with acute colitis.