Stimulation of Bladder Acupoints by Cloprostenol for Treating Back Soreness in Athletic Horses.

Twenty-five Thoroughbred jumper geldings suffered back soreness with poor performance, and 5 control horses were assessed by archived computer data, clinical examination, and laboratory analyses of complete blood picture, serum enzymes, and cortisol level, before and after cloprostenol-pharmacopuncture. The 25 diseased horses before therapy showed significant increases in aspartate aminotransferase and creatine phosphokinase with clinical pains scored mild in 15 horses, moderate in 9 horses, and severe in one horse, without changes in the hormonal and hematological data. After therapy, they responded by an increase of heart rate (57.8 ± 4.3 bpm), body temperature (38.5 ± 0.7°C), respiration rate (28.3 ± 2.1 bpm), and capillary refilling time (CRT) (1.0 ± 0.0). On the 2nd day, a significant decrease in the mean levels of aspartate aminotransferase and creatine phosphokinase (P = 0.001) was detected, while on the 4th day, they mimed the level of the 5 controls, and on the 6th day, they showed a significant decrease (P = 0.002). The serum cortisol level showed a significant increase on the 6th day of treatment (P = 0.013). The blood picture showed significant increases in red blood cells, mean corpuscular volume, platelets, white blood cells, hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, mean platelet volume, platelet distribution width, lymphocytes, plateletcrit, and large platelet concentration ratio (P < 0.05) and nonsignificant changes in hematocrit, granulocytes, and midocytes. The improved blood parameters, enzymes, hormones, and performance progress after cloprostenol-pharmacopuncture proved its effectiveness in treating back soreness in athletic horses.

Successful practice of electroacupuncture analgesia in equine surgery.

Electroacupuncture analgesia was used for surgery in horses and donkeys. A KWD-808 electrical stimulator was used to incrementally induce a dense, dispersed wave output at frequencies from 20 to 55 Hz, which was maintained at a frequency of 55 Hz, and to change the amplitude of the wave to the best grading number for the suggested operation in each animal. Induction of analgesia lasted for 20-30 minutes, and the effect of analgesia was maintained for 20-45 minutes depending on the type of surgery performed. The exhibited clinical signs, physical examination data, and the responses of all animals were used for evaluating the periods of analgesia. Although the majority of the cases (95%) had no response to strong surgical pain, they experienced significant increases in heart rates and respiratory rates during induction. The lack of pain, relaxed surgical procedures, reduced intraoperative bleeding, and improved healing without complications were all definite benefits of using electroacupuncture analgesia in surgery. Thus, this study has provided surgical evidence supporting the effectiveness of electroacupuncture analgesia, as well as confirming its reliability, in the field of equine anesthesia and surgery.