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Equine subepithelial keratomycosis.
Abstract: To describe clinical findings in equine subepithelial keratomycosis (SEK). Methods: Retrospective medical records study. Methods: Medical records of horses that had subepithelial keratomycosis (SEK) at the University of Florida Veterinary Medical Center from 2007 to 2011 were reviewed. Methods: Data collected from the medical records included signalment, clinical descriptions of ocular lesions, diagnostic techniques, and therapeutic outcomes. Results: Twenty-one horses, consisting of three Quarter horse geldings, two Morgan geldings, one Morgan mare, two Arabian mares, three Arabian geldings, two warm blood mares, two warm blood geldings, two Thoroughbred geldings, one Thoroughbred mare, one Appaloosa mare, one Holsteiner gelding, and one Holsteiner mare with SEK were identified. Multifocal punctate and/or geographic patterns of subepithelial opacification were present in all eyes. Intermittent phases of weak fluorescein and/or rose Bengal dye were found in 16 eyes. Clinical signs of iridocyclitis were absent in all eyes. Cytologic confirmation of fungi was found in ten cases, Candida was cultured from one eye, and Aspergillus cultured in three eyes. Nineteen of 21 eyes with SEK resolved when topical antifungal therapy was initiated. Two of the 19 responding eyes recurred and required additional therapy, and two other eyes progressed to ulcerative keratomycosis. Conclusions: This is the first clinical report of a subtle form of keratomycosis in the horse. Subepithelial keratomycosis may be a distinct clinical entity or represent a continuum in the described forms of equine keratomycosis.
© 2012 American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists.
Publication Date: 2012-05-14 PubMed ID: 22583748DOI: 10.1111/j.1463-5224.2012.01031.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- Journal Article
Summary
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This research article is an analysis of clinical findings related to a condition in horses known as subepithelial keratomycosis, studying the characteristics and potential treatment outcomes of this understudied condition.
Research Methods
The research was conducted retrospectively by going through medical records of horses that had developed subepithelial keratomycosis (SEK) at the University of Florida Veterinary Medical Center from 2007 to 2011. The information extracted from these records included:
- The background of the horses like breed and gender (known as signalment).
- Clinical descriptions of ocular lesions, conditions affecting the horse’s eyes.
- Methods used for diagnosis.
- The results of therapeutic treatment.
Findings
The investigation identified 21 horses from different breeds with SEK. All the identified horses presented with multifocal punctate and/or geographic patterns of subepithelial opacification in their eyes. Some variability was observed with 16 cases showing intermittent phases of weak fluorescein and/or rose Bengal dye. All cases lacked clinical signs of iridocyclitis, an inflammation of the iris and ciliary body.
The presence of fungi was confirmed cytologically in ten cases. Candida and Aspergillus were also detected in one and three eyes respectively through culture methods.
Therapeutic Outcomes
Responses to antifungal therapy were positive in most cases with 19 of the 21 SEK-afflicted eyes resolving after topical treatment was initiated. However, two of these 19 responsive cases experienced a recurrence and required further treatment. Two other eyes saw their condition escalate to ulcerative keratomycosis.
Conclusions
The findings from this research provided the first clinical report on a subtle form of keratomycosis in horses, known as subepithelial keratomycosis (SEK). Outcomes indicated that SEK might represent either a unique clinical entity or a part of a continuum in the spectrum of cases for equine keratomycosis. The positive response to antifungal therapy in most cases also suggested potential for effective treatment. In-depth research is required to understand and confirm these observations better.
Cite This Article
APA
Brooks DE, Plummer CE, Mangan BG, Ben-Shlomo G.
(2012).
Equine subepithelial keratomycosis.
Vet Ophthalmol, 16(2), 93-96.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1463-5224.2012.01031.x Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Departments of Large and Small Animal Clinical Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA. brooksd@ufl.edu
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Antifungal Agents / therapeutic use
- Eye Infections, Fungal / drug therapy
- Eye Infections, Fungal / pathology
- Eye Infections, Fungal / veterinary
- Female
- Horse Diseases / drug therapy
- Horse Diseases / pathology
- Horses
- Male
- Retrospective Studies
Citations
This article has been cited 2 times.- Walsh ML, Meason-Smith C, Arnold C, Suchodolski JS, Scott EM. Evaluation of the ocular surface mycobiota in clinically normal horses. PLoS One 2021;16(2):e0246537.
- Flores MM, Del Piero F, Habecker PL, Langohr IM. A retrospective histologic study of 140 cases of clinically significant equine ocular disorders. J Vet Diagn Invest 2020 May;32(3):382-388.
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