Equine Veterinary Journal最新文献

Background: Physical restraint of horses for veterinary procedures is necessary to allow completion of tasks effectively and without injury to patient or personnel.

Objectives: To compare physiological effects and behavioural responses to four commonly used restraint techniques for upper respiratory tract (URT) endoscopy in unsedated horses.

Study design: Blocked and randomised interventional study.

Methods: Twelve university owned teaching horses were blocked into groups of four and randomly allocated to one of four restraint methods (nose twitch, ear hold, Stableizer® and nil restraint) for URT endoscopy. Horse response to restraint and endoscopy was evaluated subjectively and by objective measures of procedural efficacy (duration and head movement), time domain indices of heart rate variability (HRV), saliva cortisol and plasma β-endorphin concentrations.

Results: Horses demonstrated strong individual differences for procedure tolerance and preferred method of restraint, but there were no differences observed in outcome measures related to procedural efficacy or neuroendocrine response associated with restraint type. Repetition of experimental procedures was associated with a progressive decrease in mean (95% CI) minimum heart rate from 34.2 (31.7-36.7) to 30.1 (28.0-32.2) bpm (p < 0.001), and increased HRV measures related to parasympathetic dominance. Cortisol was greatest on Day 2 (1.5, 1.1-2.5 nmol/L; median, 95% CI), compared with Day 1 (0.8, 0.5-1.6 nmol/L; p = 0.02).

Main limitations: Convenience sample of horses familiar with most study interventions; intervention was minimally invasive and of short duration.

Conclusions: Study findings did not support current recommendations to prioritise one type of restraint over other available techniques.

The need for comprehensive equine welfare assessments has become particularly evident amid ongoing debates about the social licence to operate in equestrian sports. During exercise, multiple physiological systems, principally the cardiovascular, respiratory, muscular, thermoregulatory, endocrine, and locomotory systems, undergo complex adaptations. To monitor and determine equine welfare, an approach that focuses on the quantitative monitoring of both physiological and psychological parameters to determine and understand the impact of equestrian sports on horses is essential. Existing and emerging technologies that allow for the quantitative assessment of such parameters have developed rapidly over the past two decades and have increasingly enabled precise monitoring of horses, though the available tools vary depending on the parameter of interest. This review explores current technologies for measuring parameters associated with these physiological systems and their practical applications in assessing equine well-being. The focus lies on validated technologies for which accuracy and precision have been determined. The aim of this review is to present an overview of current technologies available for the measurement of both physiological and psychological parameters in horses during exercise and to what extent they can be used under field conditions. The review concludes by discussing promising innovations that, while still in early development, could significantly contribute to equine welfare and the broader social licence to operate debate.

Background: Superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) injuries cause progressive loss of its mechanical properties. Two-dimensional shear wave elastography (2D-SWE) provides information about tissue stiffness.

Objective: To determine the feasibility, repeatability, and reproducibility of 2D-SWE of healthy and pathological forelimb SDFT.

Study design: Prospective observational cohort study.

Methods: Horses were divided into a noninjured Group (H) and a Group with tendinopathy of the SDFT (P). 2D-SWE of both fore SDFTs was performed at three metacarpal levels (A, B, and C, from proximal to distal). Qualitative and quantitative assessments were performed by two operators, and interobserver agreement was calculated. Differences between Group H and P, and between the affected and unaffected limbs of Group P and with Group H were analysed. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS IBM. Statistical significance was set for p < 0.05.

Results: Thirty horses were enrolled (13 in Group H, 17 in Group P). Interobserver agreement was excellent to good. Qualitatively, in Group H, SDFT was from light to marked blue; in Group P, it appeared marked blue. Quantitatively, Group H had lower median mean shear wave velocity (SWV, m/s) and Young's modulus (kPa) at levels B and C (SWV: 8.19 and 8.27 m/s vs. 8.47 and 8.48 m/s; Young's modulus: 299.21 and 204 kPa vs. 216.03 and 214.44 kPa). In longitudinal scans, the unaffected limbs of Group P were different from the affected limb and from Group H at level B and in the transverse scan. The affected limbs of Group P were different from Group H in the transverse scan at levels B and C.

Main limitations: Low sample size, examination of naturally occurring lesions, observational nature.

Conclusions: 2D-SWE is feasible as a supplementary diagnostic method for detecting SDFT tendinopathies. Clinically healthy SDFTs exhibit lower SWV and Young's modulus values, suggesting less stiffness.

Background: Surgical safety checklists have demonstrated a positive impact on post-surgical morbidity/mortality in human medicine, and likely have an equal benefit in veterinary medicine. To realise their advantages, they must be correctly and regularly used. A clinical audit was planned to assess this.

Objectives: To determine the compliance with the pre-procedural request form/surgical safety checklist in a large multi-disciplinary equine referral hospital.

Study design: Retrospective full-cycle clinical audit.

Methods: One hundred and forty-eight checklists (consisting of 23 sub-sections) were examined for completeness. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and section completion rates were compared against national standards. Interventions to improve checklist use were made: a checklist redesign after consultation with end-users, a hospital education scheme to improve staff understanding, regular e-mail reminders, and recruitment of key senior staff as champions. Lastly, it was made policy for checklists to be uploaded to the horse's medical record. Following this, 30 new checklists were re-audited in the same manner. Results obtained were compared against the first audit and national standards.

Results: Checklists were rarely fully complete. In the first audit, completion rates for various subsections ranged from 9% to 89%, with a median value of 64%. In the re-audit, the completion rates ranged from 80% to 100%, with a median value of 93%. The sign-out section was most likely to be incomplete.

Main limitations: Data were not collected in real-time, and it is difficult to determine the significance of missing data. Staff were aware of the re-audit; it is possible that checklist compliance was temporarily increased. Fewer checklists were examined in the second audit.

Conclusions: The interventions have a positive benefit on checklist completion. A clinical audit of checklists is a useful tool that can easily be conducted in practice and may help promote a safety culture within hospitals.

Background: Standing fracture repair has become established as an acceptable technique with a good long-term prognosis. However, no study has compared racing outcomes with case-matched controls.

Objectives: To compare racing outcomes between a large dataset of horses undergoing standing fracture repair against case-matched controls.

Study design: Retrospective case-matched controlled comparative study.

Methods: Thoroughbred racehorses undergoing standing repair of distal limb fracture(s) over 10 years (2012-2022) at five hospital centres across North America and Europe were included. Data retrieved included age, sex, fracture type, pre- and post-operative racing status, days elapsed between repair and first start, and number of starts and places (1-3), which were used to generate a performance index (PI) and a performance index per start (PI/S). Two case-matched controls were assigned and used for post-operative comparison of racing performance.

Results: 185/265; 69.8% (confidence interval (CI): 63.9%-75.4%) of horses raced post-surgery. No significant difference in the proportion of cases and case-matched controls (260/342; 76% (CI: 71.3%-80.4%)) that returned to racing was observed. No significant difference in post-operative performance indicators (N starts, PI, PI/S) between cases ((9, inter-quartile-range (IQR): 14) (7, IQR: 14) (0.64, IQR: 1)) respectively, and case-matched controls ((9, IQR: 17) (5, IQR: 14.8) (0.6, IQR: 0.66)) respectively, was observed. Fracture type, limb, sex, or pre-operative racing experience did not affect the proportion of horses returning to racing.

Main limitation: The retrospective nature of this study may lead to the omission of data for analysis.

Conclusion: Horses undergoing standing internal fixation of select proximal phalanx and third metacarpal/tarsal condylar fractures have a good prognosis for return to racing and comparable performance with case-matched controls. Horses that undergo standing fracture repair have good longevity, outweighing surgical costs and loss of training.