Measurement of digital laminar and venous temperatures as a means of comparing three methods of topically applied cold treatment for digits of horses.
Abstract: To compare effects of 3 methods of topically applied cold treatment (cryotherapy) on digital laminar and venous temperatures in horses. Methods: 9 healthy adult Thoroughbreds. Methods: Thermocouples were placed in palmar digital veins and digital laminae of both forelimbs of horses. Three methods of cryotherapy were applied to the distal aspects of the limbs: wader boot (63-cm-tall vinyl boot filled with ice and water [ice slurry]), ice bag (5-L fluid bag filled with ice slurry), and a gel pack boot (boot containing frozen gel packs). Gel packs and ice slurries were replenished every hour during cryotherapy. The forelimb that received the first treatment was randomly assigned; thereafter, control and treated forelimbs were alternated for each treatment. For each treatment, temperatures were recorded every minute during 15-minute pretreatment, 2-hour treatment, and ≥ 30 minute rewarming periods. Once temperatures had returned to within 3°C below pretreatment values, the experiment was repeated in a similar manner for other cryotherapy methods. Results: Digital venous temperatures were similar to laminar temperatures during each treatment. Ice bag and wader boot treatments caused similar cooling of digits. Gel boot treatment did not cause substantial cooling of digits. Conclusions: Ice bag treatment caused laminar and digital venous cooling equivalent to that of wader boot treatment. Cryotherapy by use of 5-L fluid bags with an ice slurry may be a readily available, practical, and efficient method for prevention of laminitis in horses. Digital laminar and venous temperatures were similar in forelimbs of horses before and during cryotherapy.
Publication Date: 2012-05-25 PubMed ID: 22620701DOI: 10.2460/ajvr.73.6.860Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Comparative Study
- Journal Article
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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The research paper compares the effectiveness of three topical cold treatment methods (also known as cryotherapy) on horse digits by measuring digital laminar and venous temperatures. The study showed the most effective treatments were the use of a wader boot and an ice bag.
Research Methodology
- The study was conducted on nine healthy adult Thoroughbreds.
- Temperature measuring devices were placed in palmar digital veins and digital laminae of both forelimbs of horses.
- Three methods of cryotherapy were used on different days on the distal aspects of the limbs: wader boot, ice bag, and a gel pack boot.
- The gel packs and the ice used in the treatments were replenished every hour during the 2-hour cryotherapy session.
- The limb which received the first treatment was picked randomly and following this the control and treated limbs were alternated for each treatment.
- Temperatures were recorded every minute from 15 minutes before the treatment to at least 30 minutes after the rewarming period.
- The experiment was repeated for the other types of cryotherapy once the temperature returned to within 3° of its original value.
Research Findings
- The study found similar digital venous temperatures to laminar temperatures during each treatment.
- The ice bag and wader boot treatments showed similar effectiveness in cooling the digits of horses.
- The gel boot treatment did not significantly cool the digits.
Research Conclusions
- The ice bag treatment was as effective in cooling laminar and digital venous areas as the wader boot treatment.
- An accessible, practical, and efficient method for the prevention of laminitis in horses could be cryotherapy using 5-liter fluid bags filled with an ice slurry.
- The digital laminar and venous temperatures were similar in the forelimbs of horses before and during the cryotherapy treatment.
Cite This Article
APA
Reesink HL, Divers TJ, Bookbinder LC, van Eps AW, Soderholm LV, Mohammed HO, Cheetham J.
(2012).
Measurement of digital laminar and venous temperatures as a means of comparing three methods of topically applied cold treatment for digits of horses.
Am J Vet Res, 73(6), 860-866.
https://doi.org/10.2460/ajvr.73.6.860 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
MeSH Terms
- Analysis of Variance
- Animals
- Body Temperature / physiology
- Cross-Over Studies
- Cryotherapy / methods
- Cryotherapy / veterinary
- Forelimb / pathology
- Horse Diseases / prevention & control
- Horses
- Ice
- Lameness, Animal / prevention & control
- Thermometers / veterinary
Citations
This article has been cited 3 times.- Jacobs CC, O'Neil E, Prange T. Efficacy of a commercial dry sleeve cryotherapy system for cooling the equine metacarpus. Vet Surg 2022 Oct;51(7):1070-1077.
- Mitchell CF, Fugler LA, Eades SC. The management of equine acute laminitis. Vet Med (Auckl) 2015;6:39-47.
- Morgan J, Stefanovski D, Lenfest M, Chatterjee S, Orsini J. Novel dry cryotherapy system for cooling the equine digit. Vet Rec Open 2018;5(1):e000244.
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