Investigation of perioperative and anesthetic variables affecting short-term survival of horses with small intestinal strangulating lesions.

This research aimed to find potential physiological and surgical factors that might connect with survival rates following anesthetic recovery and hospital discharge for horses undergoing surgery for small intestinal (SI) strangulating lesions. The survival rate was found to be 76% for anesthetic recovery and 79% for discharge after recovery. Factors such as differing lactate concentrations, tachycardia, hypotension, hypocapnia, low cell volume, and certain surgical procedures were observed to affect these survival rates.

Methodology

• The research involved a retrospective case series of 258 horses that had surgical correction of SI strangulating lesions over a span of 14 years, from January 2000 to December 2014.
• The researchers examined a variety of factors from the horses’ medical records including breed, age, sex, preoperative physical examination results, hematological values, presence of gastric reflux, peritoneal fluid analysis, intraoperative physiological variables and findings, surgical treatments, and arterial blood gas values.
• A risk factor analysis was performed for survival to anesthetic recovery and hospital discharge using exact logistic regression.

Results

• The study found a 76% survival rate to anesthetic recovery and a 79% survival rate to hospital discharge post anesthetic recovery among the horses.
• A significant difference between abdominal and peripheral lactate concentrations, intraoperative tachycardia, intraoperative hypotension, hypocapnia (low levels of carbon dioxide), and low intraoperative packed cell volume (PCV) were associated with a lower likelihood of survival to anesthetic recovery or hospital discharge.
• Low intraoperative PCV was also associated with the need for nasogastric intubation (NGT) following surgery.
• Undergoing a resection-anastomosis or jejunocecostomy surgical procedures increased the likelihood of needing a repeat celiotomy and were linked with lower rates of survival to hospital discharge.

Conclusion

• The research concluded that several hematological and cardiorespiratory factors could indicate potential survival rates in horses undergoing surgery for SI strangulating lesions.
• These findings could be vital in projecting survival rates for horses with such conditions, allowing veterinary teams to make informed decisions about treatment options and optimize pre- and intra-operative care for better patient outcomes.