Nutritional management of small intestinal malabsorption syndrome in nine horses

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Nutritional management in a horse after caecocolic intussusception with almost total typhlectomy : a case report

A 17-year-old Haflinger gelding was referred to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine for evaluation and treatment of acute colic. Clinical examination resulted in a presumptive diagnosis of caecocolic intussusception, which was confirmed by exploratory laparotomy. Due to severe compromise of the caecal apex wall, a partial typhlectomy was performed. Information about optimal nutritional management of typhlectomised horses is unfortunately rather limited. While immediate postsurgical support focuses on maintaining current bodyweight, the long-term goal is to obtain and maintain an optimal body condition score. In this case, postoperative nutritional support focused initially on a low-bulk diet that would be primarily digested in the small intestine, while providing sufficient fibre to provide colonocytes with an energy source. One month after surgery, a slow transition towards a more traditional diet containing long-stem roughage was made. This is the first case report describing a detailed successful nutritional approach up until six months postoperatively

Plasma exchange as a treatment for hyperbilirubinemia in 2 foals with neonatal isoerythrolysis

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Atypische myopathie bij het paard

Atypical myopathy (AM) is a frequently fatal pasture myopathy that emerges in Europe. Outbreaks are of an acute and unexpected nature and practitioners and owners should be prepared to handle the critically ill patients of this disease. Different hypotheses concerning the etiology and pathogenesis have been described. In this review, the most important hypotheses are summarized, and treatment plans and preventive measures are suggested. At this moment, maple seeds are thought to be the cause of AM. These seeds contain a toxin, hypoglycin A, which may lead to multiple acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (MADD). Treatment is often limited to supportive care. Since treatment is often unsuccessful, the main emphasis is currently still on prevention

Intra-abdominal bleeding in a horse : not always of traumatic origin

A nine-year-old warmblood mare was presented with clinical signs of mild colic and fever. On percutaneous ultrasound of the abdomen, a mass was identified on the left side of the abdomen between the spleen and the stomach. During examination the following day, intra-abdominal blood was observed. On rectal examination, a mass was palpated in the pelvis. The presumptive diagnosis of hematoma with intra-abdominal bleeding was made. On consecutive ultrasounds and radiographs, the mass evolved in shape and other masses were identified in the liver and the lungs. No change was noticed in the pelvic mass. Cytology and histology of a tru-cut liver biopsy revealed abnormal, most likely neoplastic cells, whereas cytology of the abdominal and thoracic fluid did not reveal any neoplastic cells. Due to the presence of several rapidly growing masses, a neoplastic process was most likely. Because of the malignant character of the disease and the persistence of the clinical signs, euthanasia was suggested but refused by the owner. Supportive treatment was instituted. Initially, the general condition remained stable, after which the horse suddenly collapsed and died. Post-mortem examination revealed a primary neoplasm located in the pelvic cavity, as well as multiple disseminated masses within several tissues. The mass found in the liver had ruptured with loss of probably 50 liters hemorrhagic fluid within the abdominal cavity. Based on gross pathology, cytological and histological findings, a hemangiosarcoma was suspected. This diagnosis was confirmed using immunohistochemistry for von Willebrand factor. In this case report, the importance of differentiating hematoma from hemangiosarcoma in the horse is highlighted

The risk of flax versus straw bedding on ileal impaction in colic horses : retrospective analysis of 2336 cases (2008-2017)

While mature coastal bermudagrass hay is strongly associated with ileal impaction in theSoutheastern United States, stabling on flax bedding has anecdotally been associated with thiscondition in Europe. The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate the association betweenileal impaction and the use of flax shives compared to straw as bedding in horses withcolic. Medical records of 2336 referral cases evaluated for abdominal pain between January 2008and May 2017 at the Department of Large Animal Internal Medicine, Ghent University werereviewed. Diagnosis, date of admission, age, breed, gender, body weight and stable bedding wererecorded. Conditional logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between ilealimpaction and each individual variable. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI)were determined. Predictors with a value of P < 0.2 were included in a multivariable Cox regressionmodel and Wald’s test was used to assess parameter estimate significance. Further, the associationbetween survival to discharge and type of bedding or type of treatment (medical versussurgical) was analyzed for horses with ileal impactions. The proportion of colic cases stabled onflax bedding at home was 11.3%. The overall prevalence of ileal impaction was 4.2%. In the flaxgroup, the prevalence of ileal impaction was 9.4% as opposed to 3.6% within the straw group.The OR of 2.8 (95% CI 1.7-4.7; P < 0.001) in the multivariable logistic regression model indicatedthat horses stabled on flax shives were approximately three times more likely to have ileal impactionsthan horses stabled on straw. There was no significant association found between ilealimpaction and the period of admission, age, gender or body weight in a multivariable logisticregression model. The odds for having ileal impaction is approximately six times (OR 6.3; 95%CI 2.4-16.4; P < 0.001) higher in draft horses than in warmbloods in the multivariable logisticregression model. No significant association was found between survival to discharge and type ofbedding or treatment. These results suggest that horses with colic that were housed on flax beddingare more likely to present ileal impactions than horses housed on straw