Treatment of guttural pouch mycosis.
Abstract: Seventeen cases of guttural pouch mycosis (including two bilaterally affected cases) were diagnosed in a three year period. The presenting signs were, in order of frequency, epistaxis at rest, nasal catarrh, pharyngeal paralysis, ipsilateral laryngeal hemiplegia, swelling of the submandibular/parotid region, extension of the head and neck and dyspnoea. Ligation of the origin of the internal carotid and occipital arteries was attempted in 10 of the cases exhibiting epistaxis. Bilateral ligation was performed on one animal with an untoward sequelae. Where surgery was successfully completed further haemorrhage was prevented in eight out of nine affected pouches (89 per cent). Medical treatment involving local administration of various antifungal preparations via a specially designed catheter and/or the oral administration of benzimidazole drugs was successful in eliminating the mycotic plaque in most cases. Cases which presented with pharyngeal paralysis were all fatal.
Publication Date: 1986-09-01 PubMed ID: 3769881DOI: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.1986.tb03654.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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This study looks at the treatment options for a fungal infection in the guttural pouch of horses called guttural pouch mycosis. The study finds that surgical treatment can successfully prevent further bleeding in the majority of cases, while antifungal medications applied locally via a catheter or taken orally were typically effective in eliminating the fungal infection.
About Guttural Pouch Mycosis (GPM)
- Guttural pouch mycosis is a fungal infection in the guttural pouches of horses, which are air-filled sacs in the horse’s head.
- Over a period of three years, seventeen cases were diagnosed, including two that affected both sides of the gut.
- The symptoms varied but included bleeding from the nostrils, nasal catarrh (thick mucus), paralysis of the throat, partial paralysis of the larynx, swelling in the lower jaw or parotid region, extension of the neck and head, and difficulty breathing.
Surgical Treatment
- Ligation of arteries was carried out as a surgical intervention. This procedure involves tying off the original internal carotid and occipital arteries, the major blood vessels in the neck that supply the guttural pouches.
- Surgery was performed in 10 of the cases presenting with nose bleeds. In one of these cases, the ligation of the arteries had to be done on both sides and was followed by untoward consequences.
- The surgery was successful in most cases, eliminating the risk of further bleeding in 89 per cent (eight out of nine) of the affected pouches.
Medical Treatment
- Medical treatment involved the use of antifungal medicines either taken orally or administered locally using a specially designed catheter.
- The medication effectively eliminated the fungal plaque in most cases, as evidenced over the study period.
Prognosis
- Horses that presented with paralysis of the throat did not survive.
- The fatality of this symptom suggests that in severe cases of GPM where throat paralysis has already occurred, the prognosis may be poor, regardless of treatment.
- Further research will be needed to establish whether there are other means to address fatal outcomes in such scenarios.
Cite This Article
APA
Church S, Wyn-Jones G, Parks AH, Ritchie HE.
(1986).
Treatment of guttural pouch mycosis.
Equine Vet J, 18(5), 362-365.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2042-3306.1986.tb03654.x Publication
Researcher Affiliations
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Antifungal Agents / therapeutic use
- Carotid Artery, Internal / surgery
- Epistaxis / therapy
- Epistaxis / veterinary
- Female
- Horse Diseases / therapy
- Horses
- Ligation / veterinary
- Male
- Mycoses / therapy
- Mycoses / veterinary
- Pharyngeal Diseases / therapy
- Pharyngeal Diseases / veterinary
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