FREE SHIPPING over $40
OVER 10000 FIVE-STAR REVIEWS
5% OFF ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS
100% HAPPINESS GUARANTEE
Analyze Diet
0
Equine veterinary journal2024; doi: 10.1111/evj.14060

Ultrasound-guided fetal thorax compression to reduce post-fixation twins in the mare.

Abstract: Management of twin pregnancy after conceptus vesicle fixation in the horse is challenging because the reduction techniques described are either invasive, difficult to perform or associated with disappointing success rates. Objective: To evaluate the success of transrectal ultrasound-guided fetal thorax compression for reducing post-fixation twin pregnancy in mares. Methods: Retrospective clinical study. Methods: Sixteen mares were presented for twin reduction between 51 and 79 days of gestation. History obtained from the owner and/or referring veterinarian detailed information regarding the mare (age, breed), pregnancy (day of gestation, dizygotic versus monozygotic twins, unilateral versus bilateral fixation), treatment and outcome (one live fetus at discharge; live singleton at foaling) after twin reduction. Transrectal fetal thorax compression was performed under ultrasound guidance by two experienced operators. Results: Overall 9 of 16 twin pregnancies were successfully reduced and the likelihood of success was significantly higher in dizygotic than monozygotic twins. The procedure was successful in 9 of 10 dizygotic twins but unsuccessful in all six cases of monozygotic twins. Among the dizygotic twins, two mares lost the pregnancy after discharge from the clinic, seven mares delivered a healthy foal of normal size. Conclusions: Small case number. Conclusions: Transrectal ultrasound-guided fetal thorax compression is a minimally-invasive and successful technique for reducing dizygotic twin pregnancies at approximately 2 months of gestation, but does not lead to any live births in cases of monozygotic twins.
© 2024 The Authors. Equine Veterinary Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of EVJ Ltd.
Get Full Text
Publication Date: 2024-01-24 PubMed ID: 38268098DOI: 10.1111/evj.14060Google 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.

This research looks into a method used to manage twin pregnancies in horses. The team used ultrasound-guided thorax compression to reduce post-fixation twin pregnancy, focusing on assessing its effectiveness and limitations according to types of twin pregnancies – dizygotic or monozygotic.

Objectives and Methods

  • The objective of the study was to evaluate how successful transrectal ultrasound-guided fetal thorax compression is in minimizing post-fixation twin pregnancy complications in mares.
  • The research was conducted retrospectively, studying sixteen mares that were brought in for twin reduction between 51 and 79 days of gestation.
  • Data about the mare (age, breed), the pregnancy (gestational stage, type of twins – dizygotic or monozygotic, unilateral or bilateral fixation) as well as treatment results (one live fetus at discharge; successful single birth) was obtained from the owner or referring vet.
  • This thorax compression was guided by ultrasound and carried out by two experienced operators.

Results Observed

  • The study found that the method was successful in reducing 9 out of 16 twin pregnancies.
  • It was also discovered that the likelihood of success was significantly higher in dizygotic twins compared to monozygotic twins. The method was successful for 9 out of 10 twin pregnancies for dizygotic twins compared to none for monozygotic twins.
  • Further analysis on the pregnancies involving dizygotic twins showed that two mares lost their pregnancy after they were discharged from the clinic, while seven gave birth to healthy, regular-sized foals.

Conclusions

  • The paper concludes that, while the number of cases studied was relatively small, transrectal ultrasound-guided fetal thorax compression is a minimally invasive technique that has been proven successful in reducing twin pregnancies in mares, specifically dizygotic twins, at approximately two months of gestation.
  • However, the procedure does not yield any live births in cases of monozygotic twin pregnancies, indicating that further investigations are required in this aspect.

Cite This Article

APA
Arnold LC, Stout TAE, Claes ANJ. (2024). Ultrasound-guided fetal thorax compression to reduce post-fixation twins in the mare. Equine Vet J. https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.14060

Publication

Equine veterinary journal
ISSN: 2042-3306
NlmUniqueID: 0173320
Country: United States
Language: English

Researcher Affiliations

Arnold, Leonie C
  • Department of Equine Sciences, Section of Reproduction, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands.
Stout, Tom A E
  • Department of Equine Sciences, Section of Reproduction, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands.
Claes, Anthony N J
  • Department of Equine Sciences, Section of Reproduction, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands.

References

This article includes 23 references
  1. Ginther O. The twinning problem: from breeding to day 16.. Proc Am Assoc Equine Practnrs 1983;29:11-26.
  2. Jeffcott L, Whitwell KE. Twinning as a cause of foetal and neonatal loss in the thoroughbred mare.. J Comp Pathol 1973;83:91-106.
  3. Pascoe D, Pascoe R, Hughes J, Stabenfeldt G, Kindahl H. Comparison of two techniques and three hormone therapies for management of twin conceptuses by manual embryonic reduction.. J Reprod Fertil Suppl 1987;35:701-702.
  4. Macpherson ML, Reimer JM. Twin reduction in the mare: current options.. Anim Reprod Sci 2000;60:233-244.
  5. McKinnon A. Twin reduction techniques.. In: Samper JC, Pycock JF, McKinnon AO, editors. Current therapy in equine reproduction. St. Louis, MO: Saunders; 2007. p. 357-373.
  6. Sheerin P, Howard C, LeBlanc M, Stromberg A. Effects of operator, treatment and mare age on the live foal rate of mares after manual twin reduction.. Anim Reprod Sci 2010;121:312-313.
  7. McCue PM, Thayer J, Squires EL, Brinsko SP, Vanderwall DK. Twin pregnancies following transfer of single embryos in three mares: a case report.. J Equine Vet 1998;18:832-834.
  8. Dijkstra A, Cuervo-Arango J, Stout T, Claes A. Monozygotic multiple pregnancies after transfer of single in vitro produced equine embryos.. Equine Vet J 2020;52:258-261.
  9. Ginther O. The nature of embryo reduction in mares with twin conceptuses: deprivation hypothesis.. Am J Vet Res 1989;50:45-53.
  10. Journée S, de Ruijter-Villani M, Hendriks WK, Stout T. Efficacy of transvaginal ultrasound-guided twin reduction in the mare by embryonic or fetal stabbing compared with yolk sac or allantoic fluid aspiration.. Theriogenology 2013;80:346-349.
  11. Klewitz J, Krekeler N, Ortgies F, Heberling A, Linke C, Sieme H. Evaluation of pregnancy and foaling rates after reduction of twin pregnancy via transvaginal ultrasound-guided aspiration in mares.. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2013;242:527-532.
  12. Beavers K, Burden C, McKinnon A. Management of twin pregnancies by umbilical and fetal oscillation in the mare.. Clin Theriogenol 2017;9(3):468.
  13. Wolfsdorf KE. Management of postfixation twins in mares.. Vet Clin Equine Pract 2006;22:713-725.
  14. Tan DK, Krekeler N. Success rates of various techniques for reduction of twin pregnancy in mares.. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2014;245:70-78.
  15. McCue PM. Twin reduction: thoracic compression.. In: Dascanio J, McCue P, editors. Equine reproductive procedures. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons; 2021. p. 307-308.
  16. Chopin J. A new technique for twin reduction in the mare.. In: Hanlon D, editor. Animal reproduction chapter meeting at the ANZCVS science week. Queensland, Australia: Gold Coast; 2017. p. 15-17.
  17. Bracher V. Transvaginal ultrasound-guided twin reduction in the mare.. Vet Rec 1993;133:478-479.
  18. Jonker F, Parlevliet J, Pycock J, Vos P. Twin reduction in sixteen mares by transvaginal ultrasound-guided puncture of the embryonic vesicle.. Proc Brit Eq Vet Assoc Annual Congress 1995. p. 45-49.
  19. Wolfsdorf KE. Twin reduction: cranio-cervical dislocation.. In: Dascanio J, McCue P, editors. Equine reproductive procedures. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons; 2021. p. 303-306.
  20. Wolfsdorf KE, Rodgerson D, Holder R, Schoergendorf A. Success rate of post-fixation twin reduction using cranio-cervical dislocation.. Proc Am Assoc Equine Practnrs 2009;55:257-261.
  21. R Core Team. R: a language and environment for statistical computing.. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing; 2018.
  22. Peere S, Papas M, Gerits I, Van den Branden E, Smits K, Govaere J. Management of monozygotic twins in the mare.. J Equine Vet 2022;113:103988.
  23. Curran S, Ginther O. Ultrasonic diagnosis of equine fetal sex by location of the genital tubercle.. J Equine Vet 1989;9:77-83.

Citations

This article has been cited 1 times.
  1. Peere S, Van den Branden E, Broothaers K, Polfliet E, Smits K, Govaere J. Birth of a Healthy Monozygotic Twin Foal with Hydrops and a Dead Co-Twin. Vet Sci 2024 Dec 13;11(12).
    doi: 10.3390/vetsci11120649pubmed: 39728989google scholar: lookup
Subscribe to our newsletter
Join 99,727 horse owners like you who receive our email updates on horse health and nutrition.