Use of gastric balloon manometry for estimation of intra-abdominal pressure in horses.

This study investigated the use of a method called gastric manometry for estimating intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) in horses, a procedure commonly used in humans. The research found that this method is not applicable for horses.

Background

• The researchers acknowledged that laparoscopic procedures, which involve the inflation of the abdomen with carbon dioxide, are increasingly used in horses.
• However, they noted that a sustained increase in abdominal pressure could put horses’ lives at risk.
• While methods for estimating IAP have been extensively studied in humans, there has been little research conducted in veterinary medicine.

Objective

• The objective of this study was to explore the usefulness of gastric manometry (a procedure that measures pressure in the stomach) for evaluating IAP in horses.

Methods

• Eight healthy, mature horses were involved in the study.
• The researchers inserted a balloon manometer into the horses’ stomachs and inflated it with two different volumes of air to estimate gastric pressure.
• They recorded the pressure under normal conditions and during a 30-minute pneumoperitoneum (the introduction of gas into the abdomen).
• The researchers measured IAP at the start of the study and then after inducing the pneumoperitoneum by inserting a needle in the horse’s right paralumbar.

Results

• Initial IAP values were found to be negative but increased during the passive pneumoperitoneum procedure.
• The gastric pressure measurements recorded before and during the pneumoperitoneum were positive, regardless of the volume of air used to inflate the manometer.
• No correlation was found between the gastric pressure values and the IAP at any time during the study.

Conclusion

• These results led the researchers to conclude that gastric manometry, an indirect method used in humans to estimate IAP, is not applicable in horses.