Medical treatment of horses with deep digital flexor tendon injuries diagnosed with high-field-strength magnetic resonance imaging: 118 cases (2000-2010).

The research examines medical treatments for deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT) injuries in horses as diagnosed with MRI, focusing on the effectiveness of these treatments in terms of the horses’ return to activity.

Objective and Methodology

The study’s objective was to identify the location and severity of DDFT injuries in horses using high-field-strength MRI and to determine factors associated with the horse’s return to activity following medical treatment. The study adopted a retrospective case series approach and went through medical records of 118 horses over a span of a decade (2000-2010). The horses had DDFT injuries diagnosed with MRI and were given medical treatment that involved intrasynovial administration of corticosteroids, sodium hyaluronan, rest, rehabilitation, or combinations of these.

• In terms of methodology, the researchers recorded various factors including the horses’ history, signalment, use, results of lameness examination, local anesthesia, MRI findings, and treatment details.
• The outcome was obtained via telephone interviews or follow up examination, and the horses were grouped by predictor variables and analyzed with logistic regression to identify significant effects.

Results

• Out of 97 horses available for a follow-up, 61% reportedly returned to activity for an average duration of about 22.6 months.
• In horses with varying injury levels – mild, moderate, and severe – it was found that 72%, 56%, and 56% respectively returned to use.
• Horses treated with intrasynovial corticosteroid injection and provided with a 6-month rest and rehabilitation period had significantly longer usage than those not given rest.
• Interestingly, Western performance horses showed significantly longer usage upon return than their English performance counterparts.

Conclusions

The study’s findings suggested that outcomes for horses with DDFT injuries who were medically treated depended greatly on the injury severity, any concurrent injury to other structures in the foot, the type of activity the horse engaged in, and the owner’s compliance with specific treatment recommendations. While some horses successfully returned to prior activity, the conclusions underscored the need for more treatment options, especially in cases of severe injuries, to improve the long-term prognosis.