Severe complication after administration of formalin for treatment of progressive ethmoidal hematoma in a horse.

The research article describes a case where an 18-year-old Arabian horse was treated for a progressive ethmoidal hematoma with formalin but suffered from severe complications including abnormal neurologic signs. Despite medical intervention, the horse didn’t recover and was euthanized. An autopsy revealed necrosis and erosion of certain parts of horse’s brain, which appeared to be reached by the formalin used in treatment. The researchers recommend the usage of computed tomography before using formalin treatment in such cases.

Case Description

• An 18-year-old arabian horse was diagnosed with a progressive ethmoidal hematoma, a blood-filled, non-cancerous growth in the nasal area.
• As a part of treatment procedure, formalin, a chemical used to shrink such swellings, was injected into the hematoma.
• Within a few minutes of the formalin injection, the horse presented abnormal neurological signs.

Post-Injection Complications

• Despite medical interventions to manage the neurological symptoms, the horse failed to respond favorably and eventually was euthanized.
• A postmortem examination was performed which revealed that the horse’s ventral cribriform plate, a thin structure near the brain, had experienced erosion and necrosis, tissue death caused by disease, injury, or failure of blood supply.
• It was speculated that this damage allowed the injected formalin to penetrate the frontal lobe of the brain, causing the onset of neurological symptoms.

Diagnostic Techniques and Recommendations

• Before the euthanization, both endoscopy and radiography methods were used to identify the problem, but neither could detect the injury in the cribriform plate.
• The authors of the report concluded that a computed tomography scan, a diagnostic imaging procedure, could have been beneficial in determining the extent of the damage caused by the hematoma and evaluating the risk of using formalin for treatment.
• It is advised that before treating such progressive ethmoidal hematomas with formalin in the future, a computed tomography scan should be made to understand the damage extent and the associated risks.