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Journal of veterinary internal medicine2020; 34(3); 1325-1331; doi: 10.1111/jvim.15770

Plasma iron concentrations and systemic inflammatory response syndrome in neonatal foals.

Abstract: Sparse information regarding plasma iron concentration in neonatal foals and its utility as an inflammatory marker in this population has been published. Objective: To determine the physiologic plasma iron concentration in neonatal foals. To assess its utility as an inflammatory marker to predict systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and as a prognostic marker. Methods: Forty-seven ill neonatal foals admitted to a referral equine hospital were divided in 2 groups based on the SIRS criteria (24 SIRS and 23 non-SIRS). Two control groups of 43 hospital and 135 stud farm healthy neonatal foals were also included. Methods: Observational prospective study. Data were summarized by mean and its 95% confidence interval and absolute frequency and percentage for quantitative andqualitative variables. One-way ANOVA, ANCOVA (group and age effects) and Dunnett as posthoc analysis were used to compare plasma iron concentration among groups. Results: Neonatal foals with SIRS did not have had any statistically significant different plasma iron concentrations compared to non-SIRS (P = .56) and stud farm control group (P = .99), 172.8 μg/dL (95% CI; 126.0-219.6), 193.1 μg/dL (139.1-247.2), and 181.8 μg/dL (171.3-192.4), respectively. Plasma iron concentration had a large variability in healthy neonatal foals, and was negatively correlated with age in hospital controls (rho = -0.387) and sick neonatal foals (rho = -0.598) (P < .001). Conclusions: Plasma iron was not a useful marker of SIRS in neonatal foals and was not associated with outcome.
© 2020 The Authors. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.
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Publication Date: 2020-04-16 PubMed ID: 32297679PubMed Central: PMC7255657DOI: 10.1111/jvim.15770Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Journal Article

Summary

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The research studied the plasma iron concentration in newborn horses (neonatal foals) and its potential use as an indicator of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). The study found that plasma iron concentration did not provide a reliable marker for SIRS and was not linked to the health outcomes for the foals.

Research Purpose and Methodology

  • This study aimed to ascertain the typical level of plasma iron concentration in newborn horses and determine if this measure could be a useful indicator of a common health condition in foals known as systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS).
  • A total of 47 ill neonatal foals that were admitted to a horse hospital were divided into two groups based on whether they met the criteria for SIRS (24 did, 23 did not). Additional control groups were also included, comprising 43 healthy foals from the same hospital and 135 healthy foals from a stud farm.
  • The research was carried out as an observational prospective study, employing statistical methods such as one-way ANOVA, ANCOVA, and Dunnett’s post-hoc analysis to compare the iron levels between the different groups.

Key Findings

  • The researchers found no significant difference in plasma iron concentration between foals diagnosed with SIRS, those without such a diagnosis, and the healthy control group; p-values were .56 and .99 respectively indicating a lack of statistical significance.
  • It was noted that plasma iron concentration showed a high degree of variance among healthy foals and was found to decrease with age in both the healthy control group and sick foals.

Conclusion

  • The study determined that plasma iron levels in neonatal foals cannot be reliably used as a marker for SIRS.
  • Additionally, there was no observed association between plasma iron concentration and the eventual health outcomes for the foals, depreciating its effectiveness as a predictive tool in prognosis.

Cite This Article

APA
Sanmartí J, Armengou L, Viu J, Alguacil E, Civit S, Ríos J, Jose-Cunilleras E. (2020). Plasma iron concentrations and systemic inflammatory response syndrome in neonatal foals. J Vet Intern Med, 34(3), 1325-1331. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.15770

Publication

Journal of veterinary internal medicine
ISSN: 1939-1676
NlmUniqueID: 8708660
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 34
Issue: 3
Pages: 1325-1331

Researcher Affiliations

Sanmartí, Júlia
  • Servei de Medicina Interna Equina, Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals, Facultat de Veterinària, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
  • Unitat Equina, Fundació Hospital Clínic Veterinari, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Armengou, Lara
  • Servei de Medicina Interna Equina, Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals, Facultat de Veterinària, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
  • Unitat Equina, Fundació Hospital Clínic Veterinari, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Viu, Judit
  • Servei de Medicina Interna Equina, Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals, Facultat de Veterinària, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
  • Hospital Veterinario Sierra de Madrid, 28750-San Agustín de Guadalix, Madrid, Spain.
Alguacil, Eduardo
  • Unitat Equina, Fundació Hospital Clínic Veterinari, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
  • Uplands Way Vets Low Road, Bressingham, IP22 2AA Diss, Norfolk, UK.
Civit, Sandra
  • Ganaderia JM, Barcelona, Spain.
Ríos, José
  • Unitat de Bioestadística, Facultat de Medicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Jose-Cunilleras, Eduard
  • Servei de Medicina Interna Equina, Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals, Facultat de Veterinària, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
  • Unitat Equina, Fundació Hospital Clínic Veterinari, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Animals, Newborn
  • Horse Diseases / blood
  • Horse Diseases / diagnosis
  • Horse Diseases / mortality
  • Horses
  • Iron / blood
  • Prospective Studies
  • Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome / blood
  • Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome / diagnosis
  • Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome / mortality
  • Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome / veterinary

Conflict of Interest Statement

Authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Citations

This article has been cited 1 times.
  1. Villalba-Orero M, Gómez CA, Valero-Gónzalez M, Venegas N, Criado G, Martín-Cuervo M. Blood parameters in neonatal foal and colostrum quality as possible early markers for increased risk of developing Rhodococcus equi pneumonia. Front Vet Sci 2025;12:1654052.
    doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1654052pubmed: 40948621google scholar: lookup
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