Exercising upper respiratory videoendoscopic evaluation of 100 nonracing performance horses with abnormal respiratory noise and/or poor performance.
Abstract: Although well documented in racehorses, there is paucity in the literature regarding the prevalence of dynamic upper airway abnormalities in nonracing performance horses. Objective: To describe upper airway function of nonracing performance horses with abnormal respiratory noise and/or poor performance via exercising upper airway videoendoscopy. Methods: Medical records of nonracing performance horses admitted for exercising evaluation with a chief complaint of abnormal respiratory noise and/or poor performance were reviewed. All horses had video recordings of resting and exercising upper airway endoscopy. Relationships between horse demographics, resting endoscopic findings, treadmill intensity and implementation of head and neck flexion during exercise with exercising endoscopic findings were examined. Results: Dynamic upper airway obstructions were observed in 72% of examinations. Head and neck flexion was necessary to obtain a diagnosis in 21 horses. Pharyngeal wall collapse was the most prevalent upper airway abnormality, observed in 31% of the examinations. Complex abnormalities were noted in 27% of the examinations. Resting laryngeal dysfunction was significantly associated with dynamic arytenoid collapse and the odds of detecting intermittent dorsal displacement of the soft palate (DDSP) during exercise in horses with resting DDSP was only 7.7%. Exercising endoscopic observations were different from the resting observations in 54% of examinations. Conclusions: Dynamic upper airway obstructions were common in nonracing performance horses with respiratory noise and/or poor performance. Resting endoscopy was only helpful in determining exercising abnormalities with recurrent laryngeal neuropathy. Conclusions: This study emphasises the importance of exercising endoscopic evaluation in nonracing performance horses with abnormal respiratory noise and/or poor performance for accurate assessment of dynamic upper airway function.
© 2010 EVJ Ltd.
Publication Date: 2010-12-15 PubMed ID: 21143627DOI: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.2010.00132.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Clinical Examination
- Clinical Findings
- Clinical Pathology
- Clinical Study
- Diagnosis
- Diagnostic Technique
- Disease Diagnosis
- Endoscopy
- Equine Diseases
- Equine Health
- Exercise
- Horses
- Laryngeal Dysfunction
- Observational Study
- Performance Horses
- Respiratory Disease
- Respiratory Health
- Treadmill Exercise
- Veterinary Care
- Veterinary Medicine
- Veterinary Research
Summary
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This study discusses the frequency of dynamic upper airway obstructions in nonracing performance horses who show signs of abnormal respiratory noises and/or poor performance, and the value of using an exercising endoscopy for more accurate diagnoses.
Methods of the Research
- The researchers examined medical records of nonracing performance horses that had been admitted due to complaints of abnormal respiratory noise and/or poor performance.
- All the horses had been subjected to both resting and exercising upper airway endoscopy, which is a procedure that involves inserting a flexible tube with a camera to visualize the upper respiratory tract.
- The relationships between the findings from resting and exercising endoscopy, the exercise intensity on a treadmill, positioning of the horse’s head and neck during exercise and horse’s characteristics were analysed.
Key Findings
- Dynamic upper airway obstructions were detected in 72% of the examined horses and most of these abnormalities were observed during exercise, not at rest.
- A collapse of the pharyngeal wall was found to be the most common upper airway abnormality, found in one-third of the cases.
- Complex abnormalities, those involving more than one part of the upper airway, were found in 27% of the horses.
- It was also found that exercising endoscopic findings differed from the resting observations in about half of the cases, underscoring the importance of exercising endoscopy for accurate diagnosis.
- The study established that resting endoscopy was only useful in determining exercising abnormalities when dealing with recurrent laryngeal neuropathy, a common disease in horses that affects their voice box and can cause problems when breathing during exercise.
Conclusion
- The frequency of dynamic upper airway obstructions is significant in nonracing performance horses showing signs of abnormal respiratory noise and/or poor performance.
- This research emphasizes the crucial role of exercising endoscopy in accurately assessing the dynamic function of the upper airway in nonracing performance horses.
Cite This Article
APA
Davidson EJ, Martin BB, Boston RC, Parente EJ.
(2010).
Exercising upper respiratory videoendoscopic evaluation of 100 nonracing performance horses with abnormal respiratory noise and/or poor performance.
Equine Vet J, 43(1), 3-8.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2042-3306.2010.00132.x Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Clinical Studies, New Bolton Center, University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA. ejdavid@vet.upenn.edu
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Endoscopy / methods
- Endoscopy / veterinary
- Exercise Test / veterinary
- Female
- Horse Diseases / diagnosis
- Horse Diseases / pathology
- Horses
- Male
- Physical Conditioning, Animal / physiology
- Respiratory System / pathology
- Respiratory Tract Diseases / diagnosis
- Respiratory Tract Diseases / pathology
- Respiratory Tract Diseases / veterinary
- Video Recording
Citations
This article has been cited 3 times.- . 2018 ACVIM Forum Research Abstract Program. Seattle, Washington, June 14 - 15, 2018. J Vet Intern Med 2018 Nov;32(6):2144-2309.
- Hunt S, Kuo J, Aristizabal FA, Brown M, Patwardhan A, Hedman T. Soft Palate Modification Using a Collagen Crosslinking Reagent for Equine Dorsal Displacement of the Soft Palate and Other Upper Airway Breathing Disorders. Int J Biomater 2019;2019:9310890.
- Go LM, Barton AK, Ohnesorge B. Objective classification of different head and neck positions and their influence on the radiographic pharyngeal diameter in sport horses. BMC Vet Res 2014 May 23;10:118.
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