Percutaneous lung biopsy in the horse: comparison of two instruments and repeated biopsy in horses with induced acute interstitial pneumopathy.

The research examined the complications and efficacy of two lung biopsy tools in horses, with results suggesting that automated biopsy needles (ABN) induced less bleeding and fewer complications than the manual Tru-Cut biopsy needle (TC).

Study Design and Methodology:

• The study was divided into 2 experiments. In the first experiment, lung biopsies were performed on 50 horses using both instruments, with one used on one side of the thorax and the other on the other side. Post-mortem examinations were carried out on 20 horses.
• In the second experiment, repeated and multiple lung biopsies were carried out on 6 horses. The aim was to evaluate the complications arising from repeated biopsy.

Findings from the First Experiment:

• Of the 50 horses that underwent biopsy, there were observations of coughing and nose bleeding in some animals. The endoscopy revealed that more horses bled into the airways after biopsy with the TC compared to the ABN.
• Only one horse had a pneumothorax, a condition where air accumulates in the chest cavity, which was detectable via radiography.
• The diameter of the hematoma, a swelling of clotted blood, was significantly larger in horses biopsied with the TC compared to those biopsied with the ABN. This was determined during post-mortem examinations of 7 out of 20 horses.

Findings from the Second Experiment:

• There were instances of nose bleeding observed on 13 out of 104 occasions. Bleeding into the airway was detected via endoscopy on 41 out of 104 occasions, while a pneumothorax condition was detected 4 times.
• Complications such as hematoma at the biopsy site and bleeding into the airways were more prevalent with the use of the TC than the ABN.

Conclusions:

• The research concluded that the ABN led to significantly less bleeding and fewer complications than the TC. It was also suggested that lung biopsy specimens obtained with the ABN were relatively safe for horses.