Detection of fibrin deposits in tissues from horses with severe gastrointestinal disorders.

The research finds evidence of fibrin deposition in tissue samples from horses who died or were euthanized due to severe gastrointestinal issues, indicating potential existence of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), and in turn organ failure.

Background

• In humans and experimental animals, health conditions such as severe intestinal ischemia, enteritis, and peritonitis are typically associated with disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). DIC causes fibrin to spread out and deposit in many organs, something that can eventually lead to ischemia—a decrease in blood supply—and multiorgan failure.
• This established knowledge led researchers to investigate whether horses with similar conditions would also feature such fibrin deposits. This question was significant because, if the presence of fibrin could indeed be verified, it might have important implications for the prognosis and treatment of horses with severe gastrointestinal disorders.

Methodology

• A total of 66 horses with severe gastrointestinal issues were investigated. These horses had prognoses varying from poor—in which cases diseases such as severe intestinal ischemia, enteritis, peritonitis were present—to good, typically characterized by conditions like large-colon obstruction or displacement. Additionally, researchers also examined tissue from 16 healthy (or slaughter) horses as a control group.
• All subjects’ organ-tissue samples were collected postmortem. The tissue types studied were from the kidney, lung, and liver.
• The collected samples underwent a blind histological examination after being stained with hematoxylin, eosin, and phosphotungstic acid hematoxylin.
• Finally, each tissue sample was given a fibrin score ranging from 0 to 4, and each horse too was given a score similarly.

Findings

• The research team found fibrin deposits in tissue specimens of 40.7% horses in the ischemic group, 38.1% in the enteritis group, and 39.0% in the peritonitis group.
• In stark contrast, no horses in the obstructive group had such fibrin deposits. Similarly, a very small percentage of the control or slaughter horse group (only one out of 16) showed evidence of fibrin presence.
• Average fibrin scores for the ischemic, enteritis, and peritonitis groups were statistically higher than those for the obstructive and slaughter groups, further reinforcing the connection between severe gastrointestinal disorders and fibrin deposits.
• Moreover, the largest fibrin deposits were found in the lungs of the affected horses.

Conclusions

• Horses suffering from severe gastrointestinal disorders do have fibrin deposits. These deposits are suggestive of capillary microthrombosis, multiorgan failure, and the presence of DIC, correlating with observations noted in humans and experimental animals suffering from similar conditions.
• This finding holds critical significance for equine healthcare and may help inform better prognosis and treatment approaches for horses diagnosed with severe gastrointestinal issues.