Feasibility of scintigraphy in exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage detection and quantification: preliminary studies.
Abstract: We hypothesised that scintigraphic imaging of the lungs following injection of 99mTc labelled red blood cells (99mTc-RBC) in the exercising horse might enable exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage (EIPH) quantification. Ideally, to favour detection of bleeding, circulating 99mTc-RBC not involved in the haemorrhage should be removed from the circulation quickly. Altering RBC during labelling to stimulate splenic uptake of 99mTc-RBC may encourage this. In order to investigate this hypothesis, 99mTc-RBC distribution was followed for 1 h in 2 groups of horses. Group 1 was injected i.v., at rest, with radioactive nondenatured RBC (99mTc-NDRBC); Group 2 received labelled RBC partly denatured by heating (99mTc-HDRBC). In Group 2, splenic uptake was higher at all times and radioactivity in the lung was proportionally higher and decreased less quickly than in Group 1. Hence, the time-consuming 99mTc-HDRBC labelling technique did not demonstrate any advantage over the easier 99mTc-NDRBC labelling procedure. Additionally, the feasibility of scintigraphic visualisation of a small amount of pulmonary bleeding was confirmed with the following trial: using an endoscope, a radioactive solution mimicking 50 ml of bleeding was deposited at the usual site of EIPH in a live horse. The radioactivity recorded in that area was compared to the one obtained in the same region in Group 1 and 2. The activity measured 20 min post endoscopy corresponded to 33% of the activity obtained in Group 1 vs. 8% in Group 2 at that timing. Once again, there was no advantage of using 99mTc-HDRBC vs. 99mTc-NDRBC. These results demonstrated that small amounts of bleeding might potentially be detected with scintigraphy; they also suggest that the limiting factor for detecting small amounts of bleeding may be the level of lung background radioactivity.
Publication Date: 2000-02-05 PubMed ID: 10659238DOI: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.1999.tb05204.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.
- Clinical Trial
- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.
The study explores the use of scintigraphy—an imaging technique used to visualize anatomic structures—for detecting and quantifying an exercise-induced condition known as pulmonary haemorrhage in horses. The researchers tested two labelling procedures (99mTc-NDRBC and 99mTc-HDRBC) for this purpose. No significant advantage was noted from the more complex 99mTc-HDRBC labelling procedure.
Research Background
- The researchers hypothesized that scintigraphic imaging could identify and quantify exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage (EIPH), a condition where horses bleed from the lungs during strenuous exercises.
- This study involved an imaging technique called scintigraphy—where a small amount of radioactive tracer is injected, and the radiation emitted is captured and turned into an image.
- They proposed using two labeling procedures: one using non-denatured red blood cells (99mTc-NDRBC) and another using heat-treated denatured red blood cells (99mTc-HDRBC).
Research Method
- The research involved two groups of horses. Group 1 received an injection of non-denatured red blood cells at rest. In contrast, Group 2 received red blood cells that were partly denatured by heating.
- They followed the distribution of these labeled red blood cells in all the horses for an hour.
- In a separate trial, they also confirmed the feasibility of visualizing minor pulmonary bleeding via scintigraphy. For this, an endoscope was used to deposit a radioactive solution at the common site of EIPH within a live horse. The radioactivity observed in this region was compared with that in Group 1 and 2.
Research Findings
- In Group 2, the spleen took up more of the 99mTc-HDRBC, and the lung’s radioactivity was higher and reduced slower than in Group 1.
- The complex and time-consuming 99mTc-HDRBC labeling method did not offer any significant advantage over the easier 99mTc-NDRBC procedure.
- The activity level in the endoscopy trial suggested the 99mTc-NDRBC approach was more effective in detecting bleeding.
- Overall, the study verified scintigraphy’s potential utility in detecting small amounts of horse pulmonary bleeding. It also suggested that the detection of minor amounts of bleeding may be affected by the lung’s background radioactivity level.
Cite This Article
APA
Votion DM, Roberts CA, Marlin DJ, Lekeux PM.
(2000).
Feasibility of scintigraphy in exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage detection and quantification: preliminary studies.
Equine Vet J Suppl(30), 137-142.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2042-3306.1999.tb05204.x Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Centre for Equine Studies, Animal Health Trust, Newmarket, Suffolk, UK.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Hemorrhage / veterinary
- Horse Diseases / diagnostic imaging
- Horses
- Physical Conditioning, Animal / physiology
- Pulmonary Circulation
- Radionuclide Imaging
Citations
This article has been cited 2 times.- Poole DC, Erickson HH. Exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage: where are we now?. Vet Med (Auckl) 2016;7:133-148.
- Mazan MR, Lascola K, Bruns SJ, Hoffman AM. Use of a novel one-nostril mask-spacer device to evaluate airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in horses after chronic administration of albuterol.. Can J Vet Res 2014 Jul;78(3):214-20.
Use Nutrition Calculator
Check if your horse's diet meets their nutrition requirements with our easy-to-use tool Check your horse's diet with our easy-to-use tool
Talk to a Nutritionist
Discuss your horse's feeding plan with our experts over a free phone consultation Discuss your horse's diet over a phone consultation
Submit Diet Evaluation
Get a customized feeding plan for your horse formulated by our equine nutritionists Get a custom feeding plan formulated by our nutritionists
