ESTUDO RETROSPECTIVO DE 50 CASOS DE CÓLICA EM EQUINOS ATENDIDOS NO HOSPITAL VETERINÁRIO DA FCAV – UNESP, NO PERÍODO DE SETEMBRO DE 2004 A JULHO DE 2005

The medical records of 50 equine gastrointestinal colic cases submitted to laparatomy presented to the Veterinary Hospitalof FCAV-UNESP between 2004 and 2005 were reviewed. The breeds with higher predisposition to colic were Brasileira de Hipismo (28%), Paint Horse (16%) and Quarter Horse (12%). Females (46%) were more prone to colic than stallions (28%) and geldings (26%). Overall, the 3 most common causes of colic were large colon displacement (22%), large colon impaction (16%), and inguinal hernia. Animals with average age between two and ten years were the most affected (64%). From the 50 animals with colic submitted to laparatomy, 27 (54%) survived and 23 (46%) were sacrificed or died. Among the 27 survivors, 21 (78%) had lesions on the large intestine (LI) and six (22%) on the small intestine (SI). However, from the 23 animals that died or were euthanized, 15 (65.21%) showed damage on SI and eight (34.78%) on LI. The mean time between the first symptoms andthe carrying out of specialized treatment was 20.13 hours to the animals with damage on LI and 13.29 hours to the equines with damage on SI. In conclusion, the delay on the admission reduces the animals’ chances of recovery and contributes to the expressive number of surgical procedures performed