The application of electrocecography for evaluation of cecum motility in horses.

The research article discusses the application of electrocecography (ECG), a non-invasive method, to evaluate the motility of the cecum part of the digestive tract in horses by recording the electrical activity of the smooth muscular layer.

Understanding Electrocecography

Electrocecography (ECG) is an offshoot of a method known as electrogastrography (EGG). While EGG records the electrical activity of the stomach, ECG does a similar job but for the cecum, part of a horse’s digestive tract.

• The benefit of both these methods is that they are non-invasive, meaning that they can be carried out without entering the body or causing substantial harm.
• Therefore, when investigating acute abdominal diseases in horses, it can be handy to analyze the digestive activity using EGG or ECG.

The Objective and Methods of the Test

The major aim of this research was to determine the effectiveness of ECG in evaluating a horse’s digestive motility. It delves into the comparison of results obtained from the ECG method and a strain-gauge force transducer, which is a measuring device attached to the membrane of the cecum.

• The subjects for the test were six male thoroughbreds with an average weight of 457.5 +/- 9.2 kg.
• The researchers administered a medication (xylazine), to the horses that led to a reduction in both the percutaneous electrical potential of the cecum in ECG and in cecal contractions measured with the Force Transducer.

Results and Implications of the Test

The difference in measurements before and after xylazine administration were significant, demonstrating a strong correlation (r=0.90) between the ECG and Force Transducer methods.

• The FFT (Fast Fourier transform) analysis of ECG, showed power distribution centered around 6 cycles per minute. This number is similar to the contraction frequency observed with the Force Transducer.
• After administering xylazine, there was a decrease to 37.0 +/- 5.1% in ECG’s total frequency band of the pre-xylazine value.
• These results conclude that the ECG potential did indeed reflect electrical activity of cecal origin, making it a viable method for non-invasive assessments for clinical applications in the future.