FREE SHIPPING over $40
OVER 10000 FIVE-STAR REVIEWS
5% OFF ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS
100% HAPPINESS GUARANTEE
Analyze Diet
0
Animals : an open access journal from MDPI2019; 9(12); doi: 10.3390/ani9121106

Small Intestine Ultrasound Findings on Horses Following Exploratory Laparotomy, Can We Predict Postoperative Reflux?

Abstract: Postoperative reflux (POR) is a well-recognized complication after colic surgery in horses, particularly when presenting small intestinal pathology. Even though much has been written about the pathophysiology and management of POR, additional clinical studies are needed to better understand and anticipate this complication. The aim of the study was to provide clinical evidence of ultrasound findings in the postoperative period (three days). The study is based on transcutaneous abdominal ultrasounds of the caudoventral abdomen during the postoperative period (three days), in 58 horses, presented for an exploratory laparotomy, and compared to 20 horses that underwent general anesthesia for an elective surgical procedure. Small intestine (SI) images and videos were analyzed for loop number, loop diameter, wall thickness, motility, and echogenic type of loop contents. Ultrasound findings of horses that had a large colon pathology were similar to those of the control group. Interestingly, horses that presented an SI pathology had significantly thicker SI walls, increased loop diameter, slower motility, and hypoechoic contents, particularly in horses that had undergone small intestinal resection and anastomosis. Although the number of horses that developed POR in our study was too small for statistical analysis, they all had the aforementioned ultrasonographic changes. Abdominal ultrasound, during the postoperative period (three days), was a useful method to identify horses with abnormal small intestinal parameters. Further investigation as to whether these parameters can be used to predict POR in a larger population is warranted.
Get Full Text
Publication Date: 2019-12-09 PubMed ID: 31835406PubMed Central: PMC6940970DOI: 10.3390/ani9121106Google 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.
LinkedInCopy
  • 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 discusses the correlation between postoperative reflux (POR) incidence and ultrasound findings in horses after colic surgery, particularly focusing on small intestinal pathologies. Through analysis of abdominal ultrasounds post-surgery, the study proposes potential indicators for identifying horses with abnormal intestinal parameters which might lead to POR.

Study Overview

  • This investigation aimed to analyze the clinical implications of ultrasound findings in horses in the three-day postoperative period following an exploratory laparotomy due to colic symptoms.
  • The subjects of the study comprised 58 horses that underwent the surgery, compared against a control group of 20 horses that had general anesthesia for an elective surgical procedure.
  • The ultrasound examinations focused on the caudoventral abdomen area and evaluated the small intestine characteristics such as the number of loops, diameter of the loops, wall thickness, motility, and the echogenic type of loop contents.

Key Findings

  • It was found that the ultrasound results of horses with large colon pathologies were similar to that of the control group and didn’t show significant differences.
  • Conversely, horses with small intestinal (SI) pathologies displayed thicker SI walls, increased loop diameter, decreased motility, and hypoechoic contents – notably if they had undergone small intestinal resection and anastomosis.
  • Interestingly, all horses that developed POR showed these ultrasonographic changes, although the sample size of POR cases was too small in this study for a conclusive statistical analysis.

Conclusions and Further Research

  • The study concluded that abdominal ultrasound in the initial postoperative period could be an effective method to identify horses with abnormal small intestinal parameters.
  • Further investigation is recommended to confirm whether these parameters can be used to reliably predict the risk of POR in a larger horse population following surgery.

Cite This Article

APA
Cuevas-Ramos G, Domenech L, Prades M. (2019). Small Intestine Ultrasound Findings on Horses Following Exploratory Laparotomy, Can We Predict Postoperative Reflux? Animals (Basel), 9(12). https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9121106

Publication

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
ISSN: 2076-2615
NlmUniqueID: 101635614
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 9
Issue: 12

Researcher Affiliations

Cuevas-Ramos, Gabriel
  • Large Animal Clinic, Copenhagen University, Agrovej 8, 2630 Taastrup, Denmark.
Domenech, Lara
  • Campus UAB, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.
Prades, Marta
  • Campus UAB, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

This article includes 20 references
  1. Freeman D. Post-operative reflux—A surgeon’s perspective.. Equine Vet. Educ. 2018;30:671–680.
    doi: 10.1111/eve.12735google scholar: lookup
  2. Merritt AM, Blinkslager AT. Post operative ileus: To be or not to be?. Equine Vet. J. 2008;40:295–296.
    doi: 10.2746/042516408X302537pubmed: 18672434google scholar: lookup
  3. Gero D, Gié O, Hübner M, Demartines N, Hahnloser D. Postoperative ileus: In search of an international consensus on definition, diagnosis, and treatment.. Langenbeck’s Arch. Surg. 2017;402:149–158.
    doi: 10.1007/s00423-016-1485-1pubmed: 27488952google scholar: lookup
  4. Roussel AJ, Cohen ND, Hooper RN, Rakestraw PC. Risk factors associated with development of postoperative ileus in horses.. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 2001;219:72–78.
    doi: 10.2460/javma.2001.219.72pubmed: 11439775google scholar: lookup
  5. Freeman DE, Hammock P, Baker GJ, Goetz T, Foreman JH, Schaeffer DJ, Richter RA, Inoue O, Magid JH. Short- and long-term survival and prevalence of postoperative ileus after small intestinal surgery in the horse.. Equine Vet. J. 2000;32:42–51.
    doi: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.2000.tb05333.xpubmed: 11202382google scholar: lookup
  6. Torfs S, Delesalle C, Dewulf J, Devisscher L, Deprez P. Risk factors for equine postoperative ileus and effectiveness of prophylactic lidocaine.. J. Vet. Intern. Med. 2009;23:606–611.
    doi: 10.1111/j.1939-1676.2009.0311.xpubmed: 19422470google scholar: lookup
  7. Holcombe SJ, Rodriguez KM, Haupt JL, Campbell JO, Chaney KP, Sparks HD, Hauptman JG. Prevalence of and risk factors for postoperative ileus after small intestinal surgery in two hundred and thirty-three horses.. Vet. Surg. 2009;38:368–372.
    doi: 10.1111/j.1532-950X.2008.00479.xpubmed: 19573101google scholar: lookup
  8. Cohen ND, Lester GD, Sanchez LC, Merritt AM, Roussel AJ. Evaluation of risk factors associated with development of postoperative ileus in horses.. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 2004;225:1070–1078.
    doi: 10.2460/javma.2004.225.1070pubmed: 15515986google scholar: lookup
  9. Boorman S, Stefanovski D, Southwood LL. Clinical findings associated with development of postoperative reflux and short-term survival after small intestinal surgery in geriatric and mature nongeriatric horses.. Vet. Surg. 2019;48:795–802.
    doi: 10.1111/vsu.13217pubmed: 31002397google scholar: lookup
  10. le Jeune S, Whitcomb MB. Ultrasound of the Equine Acute Abdomen.. Vet. Clin. North Am. Equine Pract. 2014;30:353–381.
    doi: 10.1016/j.cveq.2014.04.011pubmed: 25016496google scholar: lookup
  11. Klohnen A, Vachon AM, Fischer AT. Use of diagnostic ultrasonography in horses with signs of acute abdominal pain.. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 1996;209:1597–1601.
    pubmed: 8899025
  12. Scharner D, Rötting A, Gerlach K, Rasch K. Ultrasonography of the abdomen in the horse with colic.. Clin. Tech. Equine Pract. 2002;1:118–124.
    doi: 10.1053/ctep.2002.35579google scholar: lookup
  13. Busoni V, De Busscher V, Lopez D, Verwilghen D, Cassart D. Evaluation of a protocol for fast localised abdominal sonography of horses (FLASH) admitted for colic.. Vet. J. 2011;188:77–82.
    doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2010.02.017pubmed: 20347357google scholar: lookup
  14. Klohnen A. Abdominal Ultrasonography in the Equine PatientWith Acute Signs of Colic.. AAEP Proc. 2012;58:11–18.
  15. Sheats MK, Cook VL, Jones SL, Blikslager AT, Pease AP. Use of ultrasound to evaluate outcome following colic surgery for equine large colon volvulus.. Equine Vet. J. 2010;42:47–52.
    doi: 10.2746/042516409X456040pubmed: 20121913google scholar: lookup
  16. Desrochers A. Abdominal Ultrasonography of Normal and Colicky Adult Horses.. AAEP Proc. 2005;51:20–26.
  17. Bithell S, Habershon-butcher JL, Bowen IM, Hallowell GD. Repeatability and reproducibility of transabdominal ultrasonographic intestinal wall thickness measurements in thoroughbred horses.. Vet. Radiol. Ultrasound. 2010;51:647–651.
    doi: 10.1111/j.1740-8261.2010.01715.xpubmed: 21158239google scholar: lookup
  18. Williams S, Cooper J, Freeman S. Evaluation of normal findings using a detailed and focused technique for transcutaneous abdominal ultrasonography in the horse.. BMC Vet. Res. 2014;10(Suppl. 1):S5.
    doi: 10.1186/1746-6148-10-S1-S5pmc: PMC4122957pubmed: 25238559google scholar: lookup
  19. Impact of general anaesthesia on intestinal motility in horses undergoing non-abdominal surgery. [(accessed on 9 December 2019)]; Available online: https://orbi.uliege.be/handle/2268/222821.
  20. Brianceau P, Chevalier H, Karas A, Court M, Bassage L. Intravenous lidocaine and small intestinal size, abdominal fluid, and outcome after colic surgery in horses.. J. Vet. Int. Med. 2002;16:736–741.
    doi: 10.1111/j.1939-1676.2002.tb02417.xpubmed: 12465774google scholar: lookup

Citations

This article has been cited 1 times.
  1. Epstein KL, Hall MD. Effect of Nasogastric Tube Placement, Manipulation, and Fluid Administration on Transcutaneous Ultrasound Visualization and Assessment of Stomach Position in Healthy Unfed and Fed Horses. Animals (Basel) 2022 Dec 6;12(23).
    doi: 10.3390/ani12233433pubmed: 36496953google scholar: lookup
Subscribe to our newsletter
Join 99,727 horse owners like you who receive our email updates on horse health and nutrition.