Using quarterly earnings to assess racing performance in 66 thoroughbreds after transendoscopic laser surgery for treatment of epiglottic entrapment.
Abstract: To assess the outcome of transendoscopic laser surgery for the treatment of epiglottic entrapment (EE) and determine the influence of preoperative morphological characteristics on outcomes. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Thoroughbred racehorses treated with transendoscopic laser surgery (n = 66) and untreated cohorts (n = 132). Methods: Medical, surgical, and race records of 66 horses treated with transendoscopic laser surgery were compared with untreated cohorts randomly selected from their last race presurgery. Postsurgery data were collated as number of starts and race winnings for each quarter after the date of surgery. Results: Treated horses performed worse (P = .002) than their untreated cohorts in their last race presurgery. Although treated horses raced fewer times (P < .001) and earned less money (P < .001) in the first quarter after surgery compared with untreated horses, quarterly earnings or starts did not differ between groups after the first quarter. Among variables tested, subepiglottic membrane resection was the only prognostic factor; horses requiring this resection raced fewer times (P = .001) but without a significant difference in earnings. Conclusions: Horses treated for EE via transendoscopic laser surgery returned to a performance standard comparable to their untreated cohorts by the second quarter postsurgery. Horses with entrapments requiring resection raced fewer times postoperatively than the untreated cohorts. Conclusions: Treated horses can be expected to perform equivocally to that of untreated cohorts in all but the first quarter following surgery except in those cases where resection of the entrapping membranes is required.
© 2018 The American College of Veterinary Surgeons.
Publication Date: 2018-06-13 PubMed ID: 29896774DOI: 10.1111/vsu.12907Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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The study investigates the effect of transendoscopic laser surgery on the racing performance of Thoroughbred horses afflicted with epiglottic entrapment. The results suggest that while the surgical treatment initially causes a decrease in race performance, by the second quarter after surgery, the horses reach a performance level comparable to their untreated peers.
Methodology
- The researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study involving 66 Thoroughbred racehorses that underwent transendoscopic laser surgery to treat epiglottic entrapment (EE), a condition that can affect the horse’s breathing.
- For comparative purposes, an untreated cohort of 132 horses was randomly selected from the horses’ last race before the surgery.
- The researchers used medical, surgical, and racing records to compare the race performance and earnings of the treated horses to the untreated cohort.
Results
- In the last race before surgery, the treated horses performed worse than the untreated cohort.
- In the immediate aftermath of the surgery (quarter after the surgery), the treated horses raced fewer times and earned less money than untreated horses.
- However, from the second quarter after the surgery, there was no significant difference between the performance and earnings of the treated group and the untreated group.
- The only variable that significantly impacted the outcome was the resection of the subepiglottic membrane: horses that required this procedure raced less frequently after the surgery, though this did not significantly affect their earnings.
Conclusions
- The study concludes that horses treated for EE through transendoscopic laser surgery are expected to perform on par with untreated horses, except for the first quarter after the surgery.
- In cases where resection of the entrapping membranes is required, the treated horses might race less frequently than untreated ones postoperatively.
Cite This Article
APA
Kieffer PJ, Aceto H, Stefanovski D, Parente EJ.
(2018).
Using quarterly earnings to assess racing performance in 66 thoroughbreds after transendoscopic laser surgery for treatment of epiglottic entrapment.
Vet Surg, 47(5), 605-613.
https://doi.org/10.1111/vsu.12907 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Clinical Studies, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine New Bolton Center, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.
- Department of Clinical Studies, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine New Bolton Center, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.
- Department of Clinical Studies, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine New Bolton Center, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.
- Department of Clinical Studies, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine New Bolton Center, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Cohort Studies
- Endoscopy / veterinary
- Epiglottis / surgery
- Female
- Horse Diseases / surgery
- Horses
- Laryngeal Diseases / surgery
- Laryngeal Diseases / veterinary
- Laser Therapy / veterinary
- Male
- Pennsylvania
- Physical Conditioning, Animal
- Retrospective Studies
- Sports / economics
- Treatment Outcome
Citations
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