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Equine veterinary journal2022; 54(6); 1047-1054; doi: 10.1111/evj.13553

Intralesional bone marrow and superior check desmotomy is superior to conservative treatment of equine superficial digital flexor tendonitis.

Abstract: Superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) injury is common in racehorses and a significant cause of lost training days and wastage in the industry. Objective: To compare the post-injury performance of Thoroughbred and Standardbred racehorses diagnosed with SDFT tendonitis treated with intralesional bone marrow and superior check desmotomy or managed conservatively and further to compare this performance with that of uninjured racehorses. Methods: Retrospective and case-controlled. Methods: Medical and race records of racehorses treated surgically or managed conservatively for SDFT tendonitis were collated. Signalment, lesion severity and treatment were identified and performance post-injury compared. Performance of the treatment groups was further assessed by comparison with uninjured racehorses matched for age, sex, number of starts pre-injury and randomly selected from the cases' last races. Results: The study population comprised 114 racehorses divided into surgical (39/114), conservative (38/114) and control groups (37/114). Horses that had surgery were more likely to return to racing than those managed conservatively (OR 4.7 95% CI [1.6-14.3], P = .006). Standardbreds were more likely to return to race compared with Thoroughbreds (OR 4.0 95% CI [1.2-13.3], P = .03). There was no statistically significant difference in the average number of placings, average number of wins and post-injury earnings between the surgically treated and conservatively managed groups (P = .9, P = .9 and P = .7, respectively). The average number of lifetime starts post-injury/post-selection between surgery, conservative and control groups were not statistically significantly different (P = .2). Surgically treated horses had a statistically significantly shorter time to start post-injury compared with the conservative group (P = .04). Conclusions: The retrospective nature of the study precludes an actual fit as a nonrandomised clinical trial and the nonrandomised nature of the allocation of the treatment groups is biased. Conclusions: Surgical intervention of superficial digital flexor tendonitis in racehorses suffering flexor tendon injury showed a higher likelihood of return to racing than conservative treatment.
© 2022 EVJ Ltd.
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Publication Date: 2022-01-14 PubMed ID: 35000213DOI: 10.1111/evj.13553Google Scholar: Lookup
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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 research article is about a study proving that surgical treatment, specifically intralesional bone marrow and superior check desmotomy, is more effective for racehorses with superficial digital flexor tendonitis compared to conservative treatment.

Objective and Methodology

The study aimed to compare post-injury performance of Thoroughbred and Standardbred racehorses with superficial digital flexor tendonitis that was treated either with intralesional bone marrow and superior check desmotomy or managed conservatively. In addition, the performance of these horses was compared with that of uninjured racehorses.

The researchers gathered medical and race records of horses treated for this condition. They identified the characteristics of the horse, severity of the lesion and the treatment used, and then compared post-injury performance among them. Moreover, they studied the treatment groups’ performance against 37 uninjured racehorses that matched the age, sex, and number of pre-injury starts of the treatment groups. The selection of these uninjured horses was random from the cases’ last races.

Results

The results of this study are as follows:

  • The study included 114 racehorses: 39 treated surgically, 38 managed conservatively, and 37 uninjured racehorses serving as control group.
  • Horses that underwent surgery were more likely to return to racing compared to those managed conservatively.
  • When comparing horse breeds, Standardbreds had a higher likelihood of returning to the race post-injury than Thoroughbreds.
  • No statistically significant difference was found in the average number of placings, average number of wins, and earnings post-injury between the surgically treated and the conservatively managed groups.
  • Comparing the average number of lifetime starts post-injury or post-selection of all three groups did not reveal any statistically significant difference.
  • However, the time it took for surgically treated horses to start races post-injury was shorter than that for the conservatively managed group.

Conclusion

The retrospective nature of this study prevents it from fitting into a nonrandomized clinical trial, and the nonrandomized allocation of treatment groups could have caused bias. However, overall, the study concludes that surgical intervention in treating superficial digital flexor tendonitis in racehorses leads to a higher probability of the horses returning to races compared to conservative treatment.

Cite This Article

APA
Murphy DJ, Kö-Peternelj V, Aleri JW. (2022). Intralesional bone marrow and superior check desmotomy is superior to conservative treatment of equine superficial digital flexor tendonitis. Equine Vet J, 54(6), 1047-1054. https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.13553

Publication

Equine veterinary journal
ISSN: 2042-3306
NlmUniqueID: 0173320
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 54
Issue: 6
Pages: 1047-1054

Researcher Affiliations

Murphy, David John
  • School of Veterinary Medicine, College of Science, Health, Engineering and Education, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Kö-Peternelj, Victoria
  • Belvoir Equine Clinic, Belhus, Western Australia, Australia.
Aleri, Joshua Wafula
  • School of Veterinary Medicine, College of Science, Health, Engineering and Education, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Bone Marrow
  • Conservative Treatment / adverse effects
  • Conservative Treatment / veterinary
  • Horse Diseases / epidemiology
  • Horses
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Tendinopathy / therapy
  • Tendinopathy / veterinary

Grant Funding

  • Murdoch University

References

This article includes 39 references
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