Energy expenditure of critically ill neonatal foals.

The research article is about the study of Resting Energy Expenditure (REE) in critically ill neonatal foals, particularly those with conditions such as sepsis and/or hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy. The study reveals how REE is lower in these foals upon their admission but normalises right before their hospital discharge.

Objective and Methodology

The researchers aimed to understand the REE in severely sick neonatal foals compared with healthy ones. The study, conducted from 2009 to 2011, included newborn foals admitted to Fundació Hospital Clinic Veterinari, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain who were critically ill. Healthy foals and those with non-systemic conditions served as the control group. In total, the study comprised of 27 foals – 16 critically ill and 11 controls.

• REE was measured based on the oxygen consumption and CO2 production in foals.
• These measurements were done using a respiratory monitor attached to a tightly fitting face mask.
• The Weir formula was used to calculate REE.
• These measurements were made within the first 24 hours of admission and continuously throughout hospitalisation.

Results

Upon admission, REE was seen to be reduced (mean +/- s.e. 49.5 +/- 2.1 kcal/kg bwt/day) in critically ill foals compared to the controls. However, the REE of the foals that survived (n = 5) was not different from that of the control foals before hospital discharge. So, in summary, REE was found to be lower in critically ill foals upon admission and normalized before they were discharged from the hospital.

Conclusions

The findings have implications for the nutritional support given to critically ill neonatal foals.

• For foals who can tolerate enteral feeding, around 10% of their body weight in mare’s milk daily would approximately meet their REE.
• For those unable to tolerate enteral nutrition, providing 50 kcal/kg bwt/day would be a reasonable goal for parenteral nutrition.

Overall, this research’s findings contribute to the knowledge gap about the REE of sick foals and pave the way for better methods of providing nutritional support to these foals.