Study of the short- and long-term outcomes of 65 horses with peritonitis.
Abstract: The records of 65 horses with peritonitis examined at two UK referral centres over a period of 12 years were reviewed. Peritonitis was defined in terms of the horse's peritoneal fluid containing more than 5 x 10(9) nucleated cells/l. Horses that had developed peritonitis after abdominal surgery or a rupture of the gastrointestinal tract were excluded. Of the 65 horses, 56 (86 per cent) survived to be discharged. Follow-up information was obtained from practice records and telephone calls to the owners for 38 of the horses. Of these, 32 (84 per cent) had survived for at least 12 months and were considered to be long-term survivors; the others six were euthanased within 12 months. Thirteen (34 per cent) of the horses discharged had experienced complications that could have been sequelae to peritonitis and eight of the 13 were euthanased. The cause of the peritonitis was identified in 15 cases; survival rates were lowest in horses with peritonitis secondary to urinary tract involvement or intra-abdominal masses. Of the other 50 cases, 47 (94 per cent) survived to discharge, but two were euthanased owing to recurrent colic.
Publication Date: 2008-09-09 PubMed ID: 18776174DOI: 10.1136/vr.163.10.293Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
- Clinical Study
- Complications
- Diagnosis
- Disease Diagnosis
- Disease Etiology
- Disease Treatment
- Equine Health
- Euthanasia
- Follow-Up Studies
- Horse Owners
- Horses
- Hospitalization
- Longitudinal Study
- Mortality
- Peritonitis
- Post-Operative Period
- Retrospective Study
- Survival Rate
- Veterinary Care
- Veterinary Medicine
- Veterinary Practice
Summary
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The research article is a 12-year review of the outcomes of 65 horses diagnosed with peritonitis from two UK referral centers.
Research Context
- The study observed the outcomes of 65 horses over the course of 12 years.
- All horses were inspected at two referrring centres based in the UK.
- The focus of the study was mainly on horses diagnosed with peritonitis.
Definition and Exclusion of Peritonitis
- According to the researchers’ definition, a horse was considered to have peritonitis when there were more than 5 x 10(9) nucleated cells per litre in its peritoneal fluid.
- The study excluded horses that contracted peritonitis as a result of abdominal surgeries or ruptures of the gastrointestinal tract.
Discharge and Survival Rates
- The study reported that 86% of the horses survived and were discharged.
- Follow-up information that was obtained from practice records and phone calls to the horse owners revealed that 84% of the horses survived for at least a year.
- However, 6 out of the 38 horses were euthanised within this period as well.
Post-peritonitis Complications
- Around 34% of the discharged horses experienced complications that the researchers believed may have been a consequence of peritonitis.
- Out of the horses that experienced these complications, more than half (8 out of 13) had to be euthanised.
Causes and Survival Rates
- 15 out of 65 cases were able to identify the cause of peritonitis. In those cases, horses with urinary tract involvement or intra-abdominal masses showed the lowest rate of survival.
- Out of the 50 unidentified cause cases, 94% of the horses survived till discharged. Among these, two horses were euthanised due to recurrent colic.
Cite This Article
APA
Henderson IS, Mair TS, Keen JA, Shaw DJ, McGorum BC.
(2008).
Study of the short- and long-term outcomes of 65 horses with peritonitis.
Vet Rec, 163(10), 293-297.
https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.163.10.293 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Division of Veterinary Clinical Science, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush Veterinary Centre, Easter Bush, Roslin, Midlothian EH25 9RG.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use
- Euthanasia, Animal
- Female
- Follow-Up Studies
- Horse Diseases / drug therapy
- Horse Diseases / mortality
- Horse Diseases / therapy
- Horses
- Male
- Peritonitis / mortality
- Peritonitis / therapy
- Peritonitis / veterinary
- Prognosis
- Retrospective Studies
- Survival Analysis
- Treatment Outcome
- United Kingdom / epidemiology
Citations
This article has been cited 6 times.- Dória RGS, Reginato GM, Hayasaka YB, Fantinato Neto P, Passarelli D, Arantes JA. Complications following transcutaneous cecal trocarization in horses with a cattle trocar and a cecal needle. PLoS One 2022;17(11):e0277468.
- Odelros E, Kendall A, Hedberg-Alm Y, Pringle J. Idiopathic peritonitis in horses: a retrospective study of 130 cases in Sweden (2002-2017). Acta Vet Scand 2019 Apr 25;61(1):18.
- Anderson SL, Panizzi L, Bracamonte J. Jejunal perforation due to porcupine quill ingestion in a horse. Can Vet J 2014 Feb;55(2):152-5.
- Lores M, Lofstedt J, Martinson S, Riley CB. Septic peritonitis and uroperitoneum secondary to subclinical omphalitis and concurrent necrotizing cystitis in a colt. Can Vet J 2011 Aug;52(8):888-92.
- Tharwat M, Al-Sobayil F. Equine colic: A comprehensive overview of the sonographic evaluation, diagnostic criteria, and management of different categories. Open Vet J 2025 Mar;15(3):1116-1139.
- Ribeiro MG, da Silva Ribeiro AB, da Silva ABM, Mariano GHG, de Sá Teles Bertunes L, Portilho FVR, Filho MFA, Bello TS, Meira J, de Lima Paz PJ, Siqueira AK, Motta RG, de Souza Araújo Martins Motta L, Bertolini AB, Giuffrida R, Casteleti AG, Listoni FJP, Paes AC. Peritonitis-related bacterial infections: a large-scale case-series retrospective study in 160 domestic animals (2009-2022). Braz J Microbiol 2024 Dec;55(4):4205-4217.
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