Evaluation of urinalysis as an aid in the diagnosis of equine grass sickness.

The research article explores the potential of urinalysis as a tool in diagnosing a condition in horses called equine grass sickness, by comparing urine samples from horses with varying degrees of sickness and healthy horses.

Study Design and Groups

• The authors of the study conducted a comparative analysis between different groups of horses. These groups included horses with acute grass sickness, horses with subacute grass sickness, horses that were grazing together (co-grazing horses), and control horses that were stabled.
• A total of 57 horses were involved in the study: 15 with acute grass sickness, eight with subacute grass sickness, 17 co-grazing horses, and 17 stabled control horses.

Urinalysis Results

• The urine samples of all the horses with grass sickness had some common characteristics. They all exhibited significantly higher specific gravity and elevated levels of protein and creatinine.
• In addition, these samples had a significantly lower pH value compared to the samples from healthy horses.
• The urine samples from horses with acute grass sickness also had significantly higher glucose concentrations.

Implications for Diagnosis

• The differences observed in the urine samples of the horses with grass sickness may aid in diagnosing this disease. However, these differences are not exclusive (or pathognomonic) to grass sickness, meaning they can also be observed in other diseases.
• While urinalysis can give useful cues, it should not be the sole diagnostic tool for grass sickness due to these overlapping symptoms with other diseases.