Initial investigation of mortality rates and prognostic indicators in horses with colic in Israel: a retrospective study.

The research investigates the mortality rates and prognostic indicators in horses with colic at a referral hospital in Israel, providing valuable data that aids in providing an immediate prognosis and potential future improvements in treatments for colic.

Research Objectives and Methods

• The research aimed to determine mortality rates and identify probable prognostic indicators in horses treated for colic.
• This study involved a comprehensive review of the medical records of 208 colic cases, followed by the calculation of associated mortality rates, inclusive of 95% confidence intervals.
• The mortality rates were computed separately for various categories such as surgical cases with strangulating and non-strangulating lesions, and lesions of the large and small intestines.
• Different potential prognostic indicators were identified and evaluated using Student’s t-test or chi square test, depending on appropriateness.
• Significant prognostic indicators (P < 0.05) were further evaluated in two logistic regression models — one for all horses with colic, and a separate one solely for surgical cases.

Findings of the Study

• The study reported an overall mortality rate of 25% (51 out of 208). The mortality rate varied depending on the treatment and type of case, with medically-treated cases showing a 7% mortality rate, surgical cases showing a 34% rate, strangulating lesions showing a 60% rate, and non-strangulating lesions showing an 18% rate.
• The mortality rate also varied depending on the location of the lesion, with 63% of cases involving small intestinal lesions resulting in death, compared to 26% of cases featuring large intestinal lesions.
• Critical parameters that were found to be significantly associated with mortality included medical/surgical treatment, location and severity of the lesion, mucous membrane color (MM), capillary refill time (CRT), and heart rate.
• After conducting multivariate logistic regression, the model highlighted medical/surgical treatment, CRT, and MM as prognostic indicators for all cases. For surgical cases alone, only CRT and lesion severity were found to be related to mortality.

Conclusions and Implications

• The study concluded that the mortality rates discovered were, in comparison to previous reports, similar or better. However, the success rates for small intestinal surgeries were better in documents published from the USA and the UK.
• The research suggests that local cultural attitudes towards euthanasia might have contributed to the mortality rates.
• These results serve as a crucial aid to clinicians, enabling them to provide an immediate prognosis based on clinical findings at presentation, thereby enhancing their decision-making and response time.
• Moreover, the data collected contributes to an international database that can further research aimed at improving colic treatment.