Performance of the Parasympathetic Tone Activity (PTA) index to predict changes in mean arterial pressure in anaesthetized horses with different health conditions.
Abstract: The parasympathetic tone activity (PTA) index is based on heart rate variability and has been developed recently in animals to assess their relative parasympathetic tone. This study aimed to evaluate PTA index in anaesthetized horses with different health conditions and the performance of PTA variations (∆PTA) to predict changes in mean arterial pressure (MAP). Thirty-nine client-horses were anaesthetized for elective or colic surgery and divided into "Elective" and "Colic" groups. During anaesthesia, dobutamine was administered as treatment of hypotension (MAP <60 mmHg). In both groups, no significant variation of PTA and MAP were detected immediately before and after cutaneous incision. The PTA index increased 5 min before each hypotension, whereas it decreased 1 min after dobutamine administration. Horses of the Colic group had lower PTA values than those of the Elective group, whereas MAP did not differ between groups. To predict a 10% decrease in MAP, ΔPTA performance was associated with: AUC ROC [95% CI] =0.80 [0.73 to 0.85] (p < 0.0001), with a sensitivity of 62.5% and a specificity of 94.6% for a threshold value of 25%. The PTA index in anaesthetized horses appears to be influenced by the health condition. The shift toward lower PTA values in colic horses may reflect a sympathetic predominance. An increase in PTA of >25% in 1 min showed an acceptable performance to predict MAP decrease of >10% within 5 min. Even though these results require further evaluation, this index may thus help to predict potential autonomic dysfunctions in sick animals.
Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2021-07-03 PubMed ID: 34246942DOI: 10.1016/j.rvsc.2021.07.005Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- Journal Article
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 study explores the effectiveness of the Parasympathetic Tone Activity (PTA) index in predicting changes in the Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) of anesthetized horses in different health conditions. Significant findings indicate that the PTA index tends to increase before hypotension and decrease after administering dobutamine. The index can effectively predict a 10% decrease in MAP with a sensitivity of 62.5% and a specificity of 94.6%.
Objective and Methodology of the Study
- The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of the Parasympathetic Tone Activity (PTA) index in predicting changes in the Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) of anesthetized horses with various health conditions.
- The PTA index is a recent development in animal health research that evaluates the relative parasympathetic tone based on heart rate variability.
- The focus was on horses undergoing elective or colic surgery. These horses, 39 in total, were divided into two groups: ‘Elective’ and ‘Colic’ for the study.
- During anesthesia, dobutamine was administered as a treatment for low blood pressure (MAP less than 60 mmHg).
Results and Findings
- The study found no significant variation in the PTA and MAP immediately before and after skin incision in both groups of horses.
- The PTA index increased five minutes before each hypotension occurrence and decreased one minute after the administration of dobutamine.
- The Colic group horses presented lower PTA values compared with those in the Elective group. However, there was no difference in MAP between the groups.
Predictive Performance of PTA
- An Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (AUC ROC) of 0.80 was noted in the performance of ΔPTA in predicting a 10% decrease in MAP.
- This result shows an acceptable sensitivity of 62.5% and a specificity of 94.6% for a threshold value of 25%, thereby indicating good predictive power.
- An increase in PTA of >25% within one minute exhibited effective performance in predicting a MAP decrease of >10% within five minutes.
Conclusion and Implications
- The health condition of anesthetized horses influenced the PTA index, suggesting that lower PTA values in colic horses might indicate sympathetic dominance.
- The PTA index could potentially assist in predicting autonomic dysfunctions in sick animals, although the researchers suggested that further evaluation of these results is needed.
Cite This Article
APA
Mansour C, Mocci R, Santangelo B, Sredensek J, Chaaya R, Allaouchiche B, Bonnet-Garin JM, Boselli E, Junot S.
(2021).
Performance of the Parasympathetic Tone Activity (PTA) index to predict changes in mean arterial pressure in anaesthetized horses with different health conditions.
Res Vet Sci, 139, 43-50.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rvsc.2021.07.005 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Univ Lyon, APCSe, VetAgro Sup, F-69280 Marcy l'Etoile, France. Electronic address: christelle-mansour@hotmail.com.
- Univ Lyon, VetAgro Sup, Campus Vétérinaire de Lyon, Anesthésiologie, F-69280 Marcy l'Etoile, France. Electronic address: dott.ritamocci@gmail.com.
- Univ Lyon, VetAgro Sup, Campus Vétérinaire de Lyon, Anesthésiologie, F-69280 Marcy l'Etoile, France. Electronic address: bruna.santangelo1@gmail.com.
- Univ Lyon, VetAgro Sup, Campus Vétérinaire de Lyon, Anesthésiologie, F-69280 Marcy l'Etoile, France. Electronic address: jerneja.sredensek@gmail.com.
- Faculté d'Agronomie et de Médecine Vétérinaire, Pharmacologie, Département de Médecine Vétérinaire, Université Libanaise, Beirut, Lebanon. Electronic address: rana.chaaya@ul.edu.lb.
- Univ Lyon, APCSe, VetAgro Sup, F-69280 Marcy l'Etoile, France; Univ Lyon, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Centre Hospitalier Lyon Sud, Réanimation Médicale, APCSe, Pierre-Bénite, France. Electronic address: bernard.allaouchiche@gmail.com.
- Univ Lyon, APCSe, VetAgro Sup, F-69280 Marcy l'Etoile, France. Electronic address: jeanne-marie.bonnet@vetagro-sup.fr.
- Univ Lyon, APCSe, VetAgro Sup, F-69280 Marcy l'Etoile, France; Département d'Anesthésiologie, Centre Hospitalier Pierre Oudot, Bourgoin-Jallieu, France. Electronic address: emmanuel.boselli@gmail.com.
- Univ Lyon, APCSe, VetAgro Sup, F-69280 Marcy l'Etoile, France; Univ Lyon, VetAgro Sup, Campus Vétérinaire de Lyon, Anesthésiologie, F-69280 Marcy l'Etoile, France. Electronic address: stephane.junot@vetagro-sup.fr.
MeSH Terms
- Anesthesia / veterinary
- Animals
- Arterial Pressure
- Blood Pressure
- Dobutamine
- Heart Rate
- Horses / physiology
- Parasympathetic Nervous System / drug effects
- Parasympathetic Nervous System / physiology
Citations
This article has been cited 12 times.- Ruíz-López P, Domínguez JM, Morgaz J, Quirós-Carmona S, Navarrete-Calvo R, Gómez-Villamandos RJ, Fernández-Sarmiento JA, Granados MM. Evaluation of the averaged parasympathetic tone activity and its dynamic variation to assess intraoperative nociception in relation to hemodynamic changes in dogs. Vet Q 2023 Dec;43(1):1-9.
- Whittaker AL, Muns R, Wang D, Martínez-Burnes J, Hernández-Ávalos I, Casas-Alvarado A, Domínguez-Oliva A, Mota-Rojas D. Assessment of Pain and Inflammation in Domestic Animals Using Infrared Thermography: A Narrative Review. Animals (Basel) 2023 Jun 22;13(13).
- Golzari K, Kong Y, Reed SA, Posada-Quintero HF. Sympathetic Arousal Detection in Horses Using Electrodermal Activity. Animals (Basel) 2023 Jan 7;13(2).
- Turini L, Bonelli F, Lanatà A, Vitale V, Nocera I, Sgorbini M, Mele M. Validation of a new smart textiles biotechnology for heart rate variability monitoring in sheep. Front Vet Sci 2022;9:1018213.
- Mota-Rojas D, Velarde A, Marcet-Rius M, Orihuela A, Bragaglio A, Hernández-Ávalos I, Casas-Alvarado A, Domínguez-Oliva A, Whittaker AL. Analgesia during Parturition in Domestic Animals: Perspectives and Controversies on Its Use. Animals (Basel) 2022 Oct 6;12(19).
- Ruíz-López P, Morgaz J, Quirós-Carmona S, Navarrete-Calvo R, Domínguez JM, Gómez-Villamandos RJ, Granados MM. Parasympathetic Tone Changes in Anesthetized Horses after Surgical Stimulation, and Morphine, Ketamine, and Dobutamine Administration. Animals (Basel) 2022 Apr 15;12(8).
- Billau EM, Weniger MBH, Büttner K, Tacke S, Müller ES. Evaluation of the parasympathetic tone activity (PTA) for posttraumatic pain assessment in awake dogs before orthopaedic surgery - A prospective non-randomised clinical study. BMC Vet Res 2025 Feb 25;21(1):102.
- Ryu SH, Lee KE, Forbes E, An SJ, Kim JG, Lee H, Kim BS. Behavioral and cardiac responses to a model startle test to assess retired Thoroughbred racehorses for equestrians. J Vet Sci 2024 Nov;25(6):e84.
- Flores JEM, Terrazas A, Lara Sagahon AV, Aleman M. Parasympathetic tone activity, heart rate, and grimace scale in conscious horses of 3 breeds before, during, and after nociceptive mechanical stimulation. J Vet Intern Med 2024 Sep-Oct;38(5):2739-2747.
- Ghezzi MD, Ceriani MC, Domínguez-Oliva A, Lendez PA, Olmos-Hernández A, Casas-Alvarado A, Hernández-Avalos I. Use of Infrared Thermography and Heart Rate Variability to Evaluate Autonomic Activity in Domestic Animals. Animals (Basel) 2024 May 1;14(9).
- Lima L, Dos-Santos JD, Ribeiro L, Cabral P, Colaço B, Martins J. The Performance of Using the Parasympathetic Tone Activity (PTA) Index to Assess Intraoperative Nociception in Cats. Vet Sci 2024 Mar 6;11(3).
- Hernández-Avalos I, Mota-Rojas D, Mendoza-Flores JE, Casas-Alvarado A, Flores-Padilla K, Miranda-Cortes AE, Torres-Bernal F, Gómez-Prado J, Mora-Medina P. Nociceptive pain and anxiety in equines: Physiological and behavioral alterations. Vet World 2021 Nov;14(11):2984-2995.
Use Nutrition Calculator
Check if your horse's diet meets their nutrition requirements with our easy-to-use tool Check your horse's diet with our easy-to-use tool
Talk to a Nutritionist
Discuss your horse's feeding plan with our experts over a free phone consultation Discuss your horse's diet over a phone consultation
Submit Diet Evaluation
Get a customized feeding plan for your horse formulated by our equine nutritionists Get a custom feeding plan formulated by our nutritionists
