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Equine total carbon dioxide testing in Illinois in 2012.
Abstract: During prolonged strenuous exercise, racehorses can experience acidemia. To counteract this phenomenon, trainers can administer blood alkalizing agents that raise the plasma pH and total carbon dioxide (TCO2) concentration. In Illinois, the administrative threshold for TCO2 in plasma is 37.0 mmol/L. Because accuracy in the reported measurement of TCO2 must be ensured, uncertainty measurements are often issued alongside the reported concentrations. We report a validated method for measuring TCO2 levels in equine plasma using the Beckman UniCel DxC 600. A six-point calibration curve ranging from 5 to 50 mmol/L is analyzed along with controls at four TCO2 levels with each set of samples. Using this method, we collected data from 5,199 race samples during 2012, with 134 being from thoroughbred horses and 5,065 from standardbred horses. During method validation, uncertainty was determined using the simplified Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement approach and was found to be 3% at 99.7% confidence level with eight measurements. Additionally, to investigate other variables that could have an effect on TCO2 levels, we collected the gender, breed, Lasix(®) status, strong ion concentration, pre- or post-race collection time and track location of all horses tested during that year. The samples had an overall mean TCO2 concentration of 30.5 ± 2.0 mmol/L. The other physiological and environmental data were analyzed using analysis of covariance tables. These results indicate gender, breed, furosemide status, collection time and track location to be strongly correlated (P < 0.0001) to TCO2 levels. Thoroughbred status was found to have no effect. Finally, TCO2 concentrations were highly correlated (P < 0.0001) to sodium and chloride ion concentrations. No correlation was found between TCO2 and potassium concentrations. The results show that there are several environmental and physiological factors that can affect TCO2 concentrations. The concentration of other strong ions present in the blood may indicate doping status.
© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Publication Date: 2014-09-14 PubMed ID: 25217543DOI: 10.1093/jat/bku095Google 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 presents a validated method for measuring total carbon dioxide (TCO2) levels in equine plasma, tests its efficiency in over five thousand samples from racehorses, and investigates the impact of various physiological and environmental factors on TCO2 levels.
Method for Measuring TCO2 Levels
- The researchers use the Beckman UniCel DxC 600 device for measuring the TCO2 concentration in the plasma of horses. A calibration curve is created with six points ranging from 5 to 50 mmol/L.
- With every set of samples, four levels of TCO2 are controlled. This technique is to ensure the accuracy of reported TCO2 measurements.
- The method was validated by determining the uncertainty using the simplified Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement approach. Uncertainty was found to be 3% at a 99.7% confidence level, with eight measurements.
Data Collection and Analysis
- In 2012, data was collected from 5,199 race samples. 134 of these were from thoroughbred horses, and 5,065 were from standardbred horses. For every sample, factors like gender, breed, Lasix(®) status, strong ion concentration, pre- or post-race collection time, and track location were noted.
- The average concentration of TCO2 among all samples presented a mean TCO2 concentration of 30.5 ± 2.0 mmol/L. This is below the administrative threshold for TCO2 in plasma which is 37.0 mmol/L in Illinois according to the study.
- The data for physiological and environmental factors was analyzed using analysis of covariance tables to determine their impact on TCO2 levels.
Correlations with TCO2 Levels
- From the analysis, factors like gender, breed, use of furosemide (Lasix), collection time, and track location were found to be strongly correlated with TCO2 levels.
- The breed type of thoroughbreds showed no effect on TCO2 concentrations.
- Sodium and chloride ion concentrations were found to be highly correlated to TCO2 levels, which suggests that the concentration of these ions in blood could possibly hint at a horse’s doping status.
- However, TCO2 levels showed no correlation with potassium concentrations.
Conclusion
- The research concludes that several environmental and physiological factors can affect TCO2 concentrations in horses. Hence, for accurate doping tests, these factors need to be considered alongside TCO2 concentrations.
Cite This Article
APA
Heffron B, Benoit M, Bishop J, Costello S, Hurt L, Simpson L, Taddei L, Kline K, Negrusz A.
(2014).
Equine total carbon dioxide testing in Illinois in 2012.
J Anal Toxicol, 38(8), 536-540.
https://doi.org/10.1093/jat/bku095 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Animal Forensic Toxicology Laboratory, Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2242 West Harrison Street, Chicago, IL 60612, USA bheffron@uic.edu.
- Animal Forensic Toxicology Laboratory, Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2242 West Harrison Street, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
- Animal Forensic Toxicology Laboratory, Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2242 West Harrison Street, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
- Animal Forensic Toxicology Laboratory, Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2242 West Harrison Street, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
- Animal Forensic Toxicology Laboratory, Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2242 West Harrison Street, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
- Animal Forensic Toxicology Laboratory, Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2242 West Harrison Street, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
- Animal Forensic Toxicology Laboratory, Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2242 West Harrison Street, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
- Department of Animal Sciences, College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Animal Sciences Laboratory, 1207 W. Gregory Drive, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
- Animal Forensic Toxicology Laboratory, Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2242 West Harrison Street, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Carbon Dioxide / analysis
- Chlorides / blood
- Female
- Furosemide / administration & dosage
- Horses / blood
- Illinois
- Potassium / blood
- Proteins / metabolism
- Quality Control
- Reproducibility of Results
- Seasons
- Sodium / blood
- Temperature
Citations
This article has been cited 1 times.- Dirikolu L, Waller P, Waguespack ML, Andrews FM, Keowen ML, Gaunt SD. The effect of sodium bicarbonate and validation of beckman coulter AU680 analyzers for measuring total carbon dioxide (TCO(2)) concentrations in horse serum. Vet Med Sci 2017 Nov;3(4):263-269.
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