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Journal of veterinary internal medicine2021; 35(5); 2465-2472; doi: 10.1111/jvim.16238

Detection of pathogens in blood or feces of adult horses with enteric disease and association with outcome of colitis.

Abstract: Rates of detecting ≥1 potential enteric pathogens (PEP) or toxins (PEP-T) in feces, blood, or both of horses ≥6 months of age with enteric disease and impact of multiple detections on outcome of horses with colitis has not been reported. Objective: To determine detection rates of PEP/PEP-T in feces, blood, or both of horses with enteric disease and effect of detecting multiple agents on outcome of horses with colitis. Methods: Thirty-seven hundred fifty-three fecal samples submitted to IDEXX Laboratories and 239 fecal and blood samples submitted to Michigan State University's Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (MSUVDL). Methods: Retrospective evaluation of PEP/PEP-T testing results was performed to determine rates of detection of 1 or more PEP/PEP-T. Impact of detecting multiple agents on outcome was assessed in 239 horses hospitalized for colitis. Results: One or more PEP/PEP-T was detected in 1175/3753 (31.3%) and 145/239 (60.7%) of samples submitted to IDEXX Laboratories and MSUVDL, respectively. In a hospitalized cohort, survival to discharge was lower (76%) in horses with 1 agent, compared to horses with either no (88%) or multiple (89%) agents. There was no difference (P = .78) in days of hospitalization between horses with 0 (1-17), 1 (1-33), and > 1 positive (1-20) result. There was no difference in cost of hospitalization (P = .25) between horses with 0 ($2357, $1110-15 553), 1 ($2742, $788-11 005), and >1 positive ($2560, $1091-10 895) result. Conclusions: Detection rates of PEP/PEP-T in horses with colitis vary with cohorts and tests performed. Detection of more than 1 PEP or PEP-T did not affect outcome.
© 2021 The Authors. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.
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Publication Date: 2021-08-12 PubMed ID: 34382708PubMed Central: PMC8478065DOI: 10.1111/jvim.16238Google 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.

This study examined the rates of detecting potential enteric pathogens or toxins in adult horses showing signs of enteric diseases to ascertain the impact of such detections on the outcomes of diseases such as colitis. The research revealed that there is variability in detection rates, and that detecting more than one pathogen or toxin didn’t affect the outcome of the illness.

Objective and Methodology

The research aimed to identify the rates at which pathogens or toxins were detected in horses with enteric diseases. It was also concerned with discovering the impact, if any, that detecting multiple pathogens had on the outcome of horses suffering from colitis.

  • The study used fecal samples from IDEXX Laboratories and both fecal and blood samples from the Michigan State University’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.
  • Specifically, they retrospectively evaluated the results of pathogen or toxin testing to identify detection rates.
  • They also analyzed the outcomes in a group of 239 horses that had been hospitalized for colitis.

Results

In the samples analyzed, one or more potential enteric pathogens or toxins were detected in significant numbers.

  • 31.3% of samples from IDEXX Laboratories showed at least one pathogen or toxin.
  • This rose to 60.7% for the combined fecal and blood samples from the Michigan State University lab.
  • Interestingly, among the hospitalized cohort suffering from colitis, survival rates were lower at 76% for horses where only one agent was detected.
  • This compared to higher survival rates of 88% – 89% where either no agents or multiple agents were detected.

It’s worth noting that there was no significant difference in the days of hospitalization or the cost of hospitalization between horses with 0, 1, or more than 1 positive result, indicating that the number of agents detected did not have a major impact on these factors.

Conclusions

The research concluded that detection rates of pathogens or toxins in horses with colitis can vary considerably depending on the cohort and tests performed.

  • Importantly, they also established that the detection of more than one potential enteric pathogen or toxin did not adversely affect the outcome for the horse.
  • This suggests that factors beyond the mere presence of multiple pathogens or toxins may be at play in determining the severity and outcome of colitis in horses.

Cite This Article

APA
Kopper JJ, Willette JA, Kogan CJ, Seguin A, Bolin SR, Schott HC. (2021). Detection of pathogens in blood or feces of adult horses with enteric disease and association with outcome of colitis. J Vet Intern Med, 35(5), 2465-2472. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.16238

Publication

Journal of veterinary internal medicine
ISSN: 1939-1676
NlmUniqueID: 8708660
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 35
Issue: 5
Pages: 2465-2472

Researcher Affiliations

Kopper, Jamie J
  • Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.
Willette, Jaclyn A
  • Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.
Kogan, Clark J
  • Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA.
Seguin, Alexis
  • IDEXX Laboratories, Inc, Westbrook, Massachusetts, USA.
Bolin, Steven R
  • Department of Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.
Schott, Harold C
  • Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Colitis / diagnosis
  • Colitis / veterinary
  • Feces
  • Horse Diseases / diagnosis
  • Horses
  • Retrospective Studies

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Citations

This article has been cited 6 times.
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