colic decision making Flashcards
what are the influencign factors that affect the treatment of colic?
- Cause / severity of colic
- Prognosis following treatment
- Finances / insurance cover
- Owner’s wishes
- Availability & ease of transport
- Intrinsic factors e.g. age, concurrent disease
what types of colic are always medical?
- spasmodic colic
- gaseous colic
- anterior enteritis
- colitis
- gastric ulceration
- grass sickness (ileus)
what types of colic are sometimes meidical, sometimes surgical?
- colon displacement
- colon impactions (ingesta/sand)
- peritonitis
- non-gi lesions (eg kidney disease)
- SI simple obstructions
- parasites
what tpes of colics are always surgical (or euthanasia)?
- SI / small colon incarceration
- SI/ small colon volvulus
- colon torsion
what signalment factors have an effect on colic?
- stalion - scrotal hernia
- foal - mores likely to get intusseption
- tecently foaled - more room, intestines can move, torsion
what do pale or dark injected mucous membranes and prolonged CRT suggest in a horse with colic?
poor periferal perfusion, endotoxaemia
what is the normal HR for a horse? what HR is very concerning for a colic to have? What are the other heart things can occure with colic?
- Elevated due to pain, toxic shock and dehydration
- Pulse may be weak and ‘thready’
- Transient heart murmur not uncommon
what is the normal resp rate for a horse, what is an alarming raised RR?
what is the normal gut sounds heard in the horse?
- Gut sounds (borborygmi) occur constantly
→ left - Low grade constant grumbling – peristalsis in S.I. and colon
→ Right - Caecal emptying 1-3x / minute – sounds like a toilet flushing
what gut sounds can be heard in a colic and what do the different gut sounds mean for each type of colic?
abnormal sounds may also be heard, eg sand
how can you assess abdominal distension in colics?
- Difficult for us to tell between fat / distended– ask owner
- May expand between examinations
- May get a ‘ping’ following abdominal percussion
- Indicates gas distension with intestinal lumen
→ excess gas production or blockage passage of gas?
→ usually large intestine
what rectal temp is hypothermic for a horse and what does this mean?
under 37 - suggests cardiovascular compromise/shock
what rectal temp is mildly hypothermic for a horse and what is the significance of this?
37-37.5 - important in foals, probably irrelavent in adults
what temperature is normal in a horse?
37.5-38.5
happens to the colour, clarity ,volume WBC count, total protein, and lactate of peritonal fluid with compromised intestine, ruptured intestine and peritonitis?
