Abstract: The effects of histamine and methacholine aerosols and of a fixed inspiratory resistance on tidal breathing flow-volume loops (TBFVL) were investigated using 18 unsedated, standing, healthy thoroughbred horses. The data were first analysed using traditional flow-volume loop indices and then reduced using standardized factor scoring coefficients obtained in a previous study in this laboratory using similar experimental techniques. On the basis of resting TBFVL analysis, the degree of pulmonary dysfunction caused by inhalation of histamine and methacholine aerosols with concentrations of 10 and 2 mg/ml, respectively, was similar. The fixed resistance also caused significant changes in the resting spirogram and TBFVL indices, suggesting that this model may prove valuable for further studies involving upper respiratory tract (URT) conditions. Administration of histamine and methacholine aerosols resulted in significant changes in all factor scores, although most of the observed changes were due to the effects of these aerosols on the respiratory rate. These findings re-emphasize the importance of the effects of respiratory rate on pulmonary mechanics. Application of the resistance resulted in significant changes in factor score 3, the 'inspiratory' factor, which lends support to the validity of this model for URT conditions. The close agreement between the factor scores obtained under controlled conditions in this study and in a previous study in this laboratory confirms that the factor analysis used for both of these studies provides an adequate means of reducing TBFVL data obtained from thoroughbred horses. The large intra- and inter-individual variation observed both with the indices of TBFVL and with the factor scores limits the potential of these variables for detecting individual animals with obstructive airway disease. Re-evaluation of these indices under the stress of exercise may reduce the variability observed in these data and may increase the magnitude of differences between different animals, providing a means of detecting individual animals with subclinical obstructive airway conditions.
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The research article investigates the effects of three models of airway disease on the breathing patterns of thoroughbred horses. The three models tested were induced through the administration of histamine, methacholine aerosols, and a fixed inspiratory resistance.
Objective of the Study
The objective of the study was to assess the effects of histamine, methacholine aerosols, and a static inspiratory resistance on the tidal breathing flow-volume loops (TBFVL) of 18 healthy, unsedated, standing thoroughbred horses.
Testing and Methods
The researchers first analyzed the results using traditional flow-volume loop indices.
The data was then standardized using factor scoring coefficients from a previous study performed in the same laboratory using similar experimental techniques.
The resting TBFVL analysis was used to gauge the level of pulmonary dysfunction caused by the inhalation of histamine and methacholine aerosols at concentrations of 10 and 2 mg/ml, respectively.
Results of the Study
The study found that the histamine and methacholine aerosols induced a similar degree of lung dysfunction when analyzed based on resting TBFVL.
A fixed inspiratory resistance also led to significant changes in the resting spirogram and TBFVL indices, making it a potentially useful model for further study involving upper respiratory tract (URT) conditions.
Administering the aerosols resulted in noticeable changes in all factor scores, primarily due to the aerosols’ influence on the breathing rate.
This result highlights the significance of respiratory rate on lung mechanics.
Applying the fixed resistance led to significant changes in factor score 3, the ‘inspiratory’ factor, reinforcing the validity of this model when studying URT conditions.
Implications and Conclusions
The factor analysis used in this and a previous study offer an efficient way to simplify TBFVL data from thoroughbred horses.
However, large variations, both within and between individuals, in both the TBFVL indices and the factor scores limit these variables’ potential in identifying individual animals with obstructive airway disease.
The researchers suggested that re-evaluating these indices during exercise might reduce the observed variability in the data and make it easier to discern differences between different animals. This could provide a way to detect individual horses with less obvious obstructive airway conditions.
Cite This Article
APA
Guthrie AJ, Beadle RE, Bateman RD, White CE.
(1995).
The effects of three models of airway disease on tidal breathing flow-volume loops of thoroughbred horses.
Vet Res Commun, 19(6), 517-527.
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01839340
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