Evaluation of mare endometrial cytology using the novel cytotape technique.

This research investigates the effectiveness of a new method, the ‘cytotape’, for collecting endometrial samples from mares (female horses), and compares it to the traditional ‘cytobrush’ method. The aim was to find a technique that provides better sample quality with lesser likelihood of blood contamination.

Methodology

• The research included ten mares that were initially free of endometritis (an inflammation of the uterine lining).
• Both cytotape and cytobrush were used to collect endometrial samples from each mare.
• Endometritis was then artificially induced on the mares via artificial insemination, and the sample collection was repeated 6 hours after this procedure.
• A cytology smear (cell sample for microscopic examination) and bacterial culture were prepared from every collected sample.
• The researchers then compared the efficiency of both methods, looking at the number and condition of endometrial cells, the quantity, state, and percentage of neutrophils (a type of white blood cell), the number of red blood cells, and the amount of colony-forming units (a measure of viable bacterial numbers).

Findings

• Both methods produced comparable results in terms of cell quantity and integrity, but cytotape caused less blood contamination compared to cytobrush.
• The number and ratio of neutrophils, rate of positive cytology diagnoses, number of colony-forming units, and rate of positive cultures were similar irrespective of the sample-collection method used.
• The researchers utilized endometrial biopsy as the ‘gold standard’ to measure the reliability of cytology and culture results for both techniques.

Conclusion

• The research concludes that the cytotape method is swift, simple, and practical for obtaining endometrial samples.
• It offers the same diagnostic value as the cytobrush method, with the added advantage of less blood contamination.

This article suggest that cytotape could be a better alternative to cytobrush for more comfortable and less invasive endometrial sampling in mares, potentially leading to higher welfare standards in equine reproductive medicine practices.