Cytological Findings in Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid of Foals With Pneumonia Caused by Rhodococcus equi and Other Bacteria.

The research article aimed to distinguish between pneumonia caused by Rhodococcus equi versus other bacteria in foals, using cytological findings in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. The findings pointed to significant differences in cellular composition of the fluid between the two types of pneumonia.

Summary of the Research

• The research at hand is a retrospective study that looked at the cytological findings in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of foals with pneumonia caused by Rhodococcus equi or other bacteria.
• The research used data of 19 foals aged from 3 weeks to 6 months suffering from respiratory disease between 2015 and 2016, compiled from the database of University of Pisa’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital “Mario Modenato”.
• Of the total number of foals selected for the study, 42.1% had R. equi pneumonia while 57.9% had pneumonia caused by another bacteria.

Findings of the Study

• One of the critical findings of this study was that the foals with R. equi pneumonia had a significantly higher total nucleated cell count and neutrophils’ percentage than the foals with pneumonia caused by a different bacterium.
• Moreover, the research found that the proportion of macrophages was significantly lower in the foals with R. equi pneumonia than those with pneumonia caused by other bacteria.

Implication of the Study

• This study underlines the potential of bronchoalveolar lavage, a simple procedure requiring minimal equipment, for determining the specific cause of pneumonia in foals. It can help identify the bacteria involved before culture results are available.
• The significant differences noted in the cellular composition of BALF between foals with R. equi pneumonia and those with other bacterial pneumonias can serve as a diagnostic distinction while waiting for culture results.