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BMC veterinary research2023; 19(1); doi: 10.1186/s12917-023-03654-9

Comparison of two sedation protocols for long electroretinography in horses using the Koijman electrode.

Abstract: In modern times, horses are utilized not only for labour and transportation purposes but also for recreational activities such as competition and pleasure riding. In these various pursuits, the role of vision plays a crucial role. Electroretinography is the most used test to diagnose diseases of the retinal outer segment. There is a wide variety of devices to perform the electroretinography differing one from each other in the corneal electrode and the light stimulation. The Koijman electrode has been tested in dogs but not in horses. The main purpose of this study was to compare electroretinography parameters from horses sedated with detomidine alone or in combination with butorphanol, during a standardized protocol using the Koijman electrode and RETI-port® system. Seven mares were allocated to the detomidine and detomidine plus butorphanol group in a randomised, controlled, crossover study. Friedman and Willcoxon-signed ranked tests were used to compare the electroretinogram parameters. A Student's t-test was used to compare differences in the number of artefacts to valid values ratio obtained under both sedation protocols.
© 2023. BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature.
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Publication Date: 2023-08-04 PubMed ID: 37537621PubMed Central: PMC10401785DOI: 10.1186/s12917-023-03654-9Google 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.

Horses, in the present day, are engaged in various activities that require good vision. One common test to detect diseases affecting the back part of the eye (retina) in animals is called electroretinography. Various devices with different specifications are available to conduct this test. One such device, the Koijman electrode, has been tried in dogs but not in horses. This study intends to use the Koijman electrode and another device called RETI-port® to study the eyes of horses sedated in two different ways.

Objective:

The main aim is to compare the results of the electroretinography test in horses that were sedated using either detomidine alone or a combination of detomidine and butorphanol.

Study Design:

Seven female horses (mares) were sedated using both methods at different times (crossover design). The effects of the sedatives on the test results were then analyzed.

Methods:

Statistical tests (Friedman, Wilcoxon-signed ranked tests, and Student’s t-test) were used to compare the results from both sedation methods.

Results:

  1. After being kept in the dark (to adjust their eyes to low light), the best readings were taken after 16 minutes for both groups.
  2. There were no significant differences in the main test results between the two sedation methods.
  3. However, during a specific part of the test where both rods and cones (types of light-detecting cells in the retina) were being evaluated, all horses made head movements, causing many disturbances (artefacts) in the readings.
  4. The group sedated with both detomidine and butorphanol seemed to have slightly fewer disturbances and stayed sedated for a longer time, although this difference was not statistically significant.

Conclusions:

Sedating horses with either detomidine alone or combined with butorphanol seems suitable when using the Koijman electrode and RETI-port® for a standardized extended testing protocol, but some adjustments might be needed to optimize the results.

In simple terms, the study tried to see which sedation method is better when testing the eyes of horses using specific equipment. Both methods were found to be usable, but there might be a slight edge to using both drugs combined.

Cite This Article

APA
Ignacio C, Del Mar LM, Marta B, Sina Z, Vicent R, Aloma MF. (2023). Comparison of two sedation protocols for long electroretinography in horses using the Koijman electrode. BMC Vet Res, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-023-03654-9

Publication

BMC veterinary research
ISSN: 1746-6148
NlmUniqueID: 101249759
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 19
Issue: 1

Researcher Affiliations

Ignacio, Corradini
  • Departamento de Medicina y Cirugía Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Cardenal Herrera-CEU, CEU Universities, Tirant lo Blanc, 7, Alfara del Patriarca, Valencia, 46115, Spain.
  • School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Nr Loughborough, LE12 5RD, England, UK.
Del Mar, López-Murcia María
  • Departamento de Medicina y Cirugía Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Cardenal Herrera-CEU, CEU Universities, Tirant lo Blanc, 7, Alfara del Patriarca, Valencia, 46115, Spain.
Marta, Barba
  • Departamento de Medicina y Cirugía Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Cardenal Herrera-CEU, CEU Universities, Tirant lo Blanc, 7, Alfara del Patriarca, Valencia, 46115, Spain.
Sina, Zebarjadian
  • Departamento de Medicina y Cirugía Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Cardenal Herrera-CEU, CEU Universities, Tirant lo Blanc, 7, Alfara del Patriarca, Valencia, 46115, Spain.
Vicent, Rodilla
  • Departmento de Farmacia, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Universidad Cardenal Herrera-CEU, CEU Universities, Santiago Ramón y Cajal, s/n., Alfara del Patriarca, Valencia, 46115, Spain.
Aloma, Mayordomo-Febrer
  • Departamento de Medicina y Cirugía Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Cardenal Herrera-CEU, CEU Universities, Tirant lo Blanc, 7, Alfara del Patriarca, Valencia, 46115, Spain. aloma.mayordomo@uchceu.es.

MeSH Terms

  • Horses
  • Animals
  • Female
  • Dogs
  • Butorphanol
  • Electroretinography / veterinary
  • Hypnotics and Sedatives
  • Cross-Over Studies
  • Imidazoles
  • Electrodes
  • Clinical Trials, Veterinary as Topic

Grant Funding

  • #IDOC18-13 / Universidad Cardenal Herrera-CEU, CEU Universities, Valencia, Spain

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Citations

This article has been cited 1 times.
  1. Roth LSV, McGreevy P. Horse vision through two lenses: Tinbergen's Four Questions and the Five Domains. Front Vet Sci 2025;12:1647911.
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