Pre-operative and anaesthesia-related risk factors for mortality in equine colic cases.
Abstract: Mortality rates for horses that have undergone emergency abdominal surgery are higher than for other procedures. Here, multivariable modelling of data from 774 surgical colic cases is used to identify pre-operative and anaesthesia-related variables associated with intra- and post-operative mortality. Intra-operative mortality was significantly (P<0.05), and positively associated with heart rate and packed cell volume (PCV) at admission, and negatively associated with the severity of pain. Post-operative mortality increased with increasing age and PCV at admission. Draught horses, Thoroughbreds and Thoroughbred-cross horses carried a significantly worse prognosis. We detected a small but significant variability in the risk of intra-operative death amongst referring veterinary surgeons. Different anaesthetic induction agents, inhalation maintenance agents and the use, or not, of intermittent positive pressure ventilation had no significant effect on risk of death. We conclude that cardiovascular compromise, level of pain, age, and breed are all associated with the risk of mortality in equine surgical colic cases.
Publication Date: 2004-11-11 PubMed ID: 16427585DOI: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2004.09.005Google 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
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
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.
This research explores the factors contributing to mortality rates in horses undergoing abdominal surgery due to colic. Variables including heart rate, packed cell volume, perceived pain levels, age and breed were identified as significantly contributing to both intra- and post-operative mortality rates.
Objective and Methodology
- The aim of this study was to identify risk factors contributing to mortality in horses undergoing emergency abdominal surgery. The research was carried out by analysing data from 774 surgical colic cases using multivariable models.
- Factors scrutinised were pre-operative and anaesthesia-related variables such as heart rate, packed cell volume (PCV), level of pain at admission, age, and breed of the horse.
Findings
- Increased heart rate and higher PCV values at admission were associated with higher intra-operative mortality, while the severity of the pain was inversely related, indicating that horses with less pain had higher chances of death.
- The risk of post-operative mortality, on the other hand, increased with the age of the horse and its PCV level at admission.
- Draught horses, Thoroughbreds and Thoroughbred-cross breeds showed a significantly worse prognosis compared to others.
- A minor but significant variation in the risk of intra-operative death was also observed among the referring veterinary surgeons.
Anaesthesia-related Factors
- However, the study found that different anaesthetic induction agents, inhalation maintenance agents or the use of intermittent positive pressure ventilation did not significantly influence the risk of mortality.
Conclusions
- The study concluded that measures of cardiovascular compromise (like increased heart rate and high PCV), pain level at admission, age, and breed of the horse are important factors associated with the risk of death in equine surgical colic cases.
Cite This Article
APA
Proudman CJ, Dugdale AH, Senior JM, Edwards GB, Smith JE, Leuwer ML, French NP.
(2004).
Pre-operative and anaesthesia-related risk factors for mortality in equine colic cases.
Vet J, 171(1), 89-97.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2004.09.005 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Liverpool, Leahurst, Neston, Wirral CH64 7TE, UK. c.j.proudman@liv.ac.uk
MeSH Terms
- Age Factors
- Anesthesia / mortality
- Anesthesia / veterinary
- Animals
- Colic / mortality
- Colic / surgery
- Colic / veterinary
- Female
- Heart Rate / physiology
- Hematocrit / veterinary
- Horse Diseases / mortality
- Horse Diseases / surgery
- Horses
- Male
- Postoperative Complications / mortality
- Postoperative Complications / veterinary
- Preoperative Care / methods
- Preoperative Care / veterinary
- Risk Factors
- Severity of Illness Index
Citations
This article has been cited 11 times.- Straticò P, Varasano V, Palozzo A, Guerri G, Celani G, Revelant O, Petrizzi L. Retrospective Study on Risk Factors and Short-Term Outcome of Horses Referred for Colic from 2016 to 2022. Vet Sci 2022 Oct 3;9(10).
- Bishop RC, Gutierrez-Nibeyro SD, Stewart MC, McCoy AM. Performance of predictive models of survival in horses undergoing emergency exploratory laparotomy for colic. Vet Surg 2022 Aug;51(6):891-902.
- Kos VK, Kramaric P, Brloznik M. Packed cell volume and heart rate to predict medical and surgical cases and their short-term survival in horses with gastrointestinal-induced colic. Can Vet J 2022 Apr;63(4):365-372.
- Gozalo-Marcilla M, Bettschart-Wolfensberger R, Johnston M, Taylor PM, Redondo JI. Data Collection for the Fourth Multicentre Confidential Enquiry into Perioperative Equine Fatalities (CEPEF4) Study: New Technology and Preliminary Results. Animals (Basel) 2021 Aug 30;11(9).
- Kershaw T, Hall EJ, Dobbs P, Liptovszky M, Strong V. An Exploration of the Value of Elective Health Checks in UK Zoo-Housed Gibbons. Animals (Basel) 2020 Dec 5;10(12).
- Kaufman JM, Nekouei O, Doyle AJ, Biermann NM. Clinical findings, diagnoses, and outcomes of horses presented for colic to a referral hospital in Atlantic Canada (2000-2015). Can Vet J 2020 Mar;61(3):281-288.
- Roy MF, Kwong GP, Lambert J, Massie S, Lockhart S. Prognostic Value and Development of a Scoring System in Horses With Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome. J Vet Intern Med 2017 Mar;31(2):582-592.
- Curtis L, Burford JH, Thomas JS, Curran ML, Bayes TC, England GC, Freeman SL. Prospective study of the primary evaluation of 1016 horses with clinical signs of abdominal pain by veterinary practitioners, and the differentiation of critical and non-critical cases. Acta Vet Scand 2015 Oct 6;57:69.
- Wormstrand BH, Ihler CF, Diesen R, Krontveit RI. Surgical treatment of equine colic - a retrospective study of 297 surgeries in Norway 2005-2011. Acta Vet Scand 2014 Jun 16;56(1):38.
- Mickevičienė I, Mikalauskienė D, Miknienė Z. The prognostic importance of physiological and biochemical parameters in horses afflicted with colic. Open Vet J 2024 Aug;14(8):1801-1807.
- Casalta H, Bayrou C, Djebala S, Eppe J, Gille L, Gommeren K, Marduel E, Sartelet A, Seys C, Versyp J, Grulke S. Evaluation of Blood Lactate, Heart Rate, Blood Pressure, and Shock Index, and Their Association with Prognosis in Calves. Vet Sci 2024 Jan 20;11(1).
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
