ABSTRACT
An 18 hours old foal presented with a suspected meconium impaction. There was no response to treatment and a tentative diagnosis of atresia coli (AC) was made. Surgical intervention was declined and the foal was euthanized 12 hours after admission. Type 3 AC was confirmed on post-mortem examination, with the colon ending at the left ventral colon. A 1,080 large colon volvulus (LCV) at the sternal flexure was present. It is speculated that AC could predispose the foal to LCV. Histopathology was not performed but would be useful in further cases of AC.
Subject(s)
Horse Diseases , Intestinal Atresia , Intestinal Volvulus , Horses , Animals , Horse Diseases/pathology , Intestinal Volvulus/diagnosis , Intestinal Volvulus/veterinary , Intestinal Atresia/veterinary , Colon/diagnostic imagingABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Hyperglycemia and endotoxemia have been associated with coagulation abnormalities in horses. Studies in humans suggest greater disturbances in coagulation with hyperglycemia and concurrent endotoxemia. OBJECTIVES: To compare coagulation parameters in horses administered with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) with and without concurrent hyperglycemia. ANIMALS: Twelve healthy adult horses. METHODS: Hyperglycemia (180-240 mg/dL) was maintained for 6 hours in 6 horses (GLU-LPS) using 140 mg/kg IV bolus of dextrose followed by a 20% dextrose constant rate infusion. A similar volume of saline was administered to an additional 6 horses (SAL-LPS). LPS (20 ng/kg) was administered to each horse. Fibrogen concentration, prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), thrombin antithrombin concentration (TAT), and thromboelastometry were measured at baseline and after 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 6, and 22 hours. Repeated measures analysis of variance was used to examine temporal changes. RESULTS: Increases in PT (P = .001) and TAT (P = .027) were observed in the GLU-LPS group. Changes in thromboelastometry parameters including increased clot formation time (In-TEM, P = .006; Ex-TEM, P = .002) and decreased alpha angle (Ex-TEM, P = .04) and maximal clot firmness (Ex-TEM, P = .014) were observed in the SAL-LPS group. Differences between SAL-LPS and GLU-LPS groups were limited to increased maximal clot firmness (Ex-TEM) at 3, 6, and 22 hours (P < .001) in the SAL-LPS group. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Minor alterations in coagulation parameters identified for each group are most likely not clinically relevant. Observed differences between groups do not suggest that concurrent hyperglycemia and endotoxemia are associated with greater coagulation abnormalities in horses.
