Disorders of the Equine Lower Resp Tract 1 Flashcards
how can horses be restrained for endoscopy
- twitch
- stocks
- sedation
what sedation can you use for upper airway endoscopy
a2 agonist + opioid
detomidine + butorphanol
romifidine + butorphanol
what should you examine in the trachea and bronchi in upper airway endoscopy
- exessive coughing: suggestive of resp disease
- examine carina: may see edema –> suggestive of lower airway inflammation (particularly severe SEA)
- examine secretions: may contain food material if dysphagic
what are the two areas where you can get resp cytology
- tracheal wash
- bronchoalveolar lavage
what can resp cytology diagnose
- inflammatory disorders: infectious/non-infectious
- hemorrhage: exercise induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH)
- parasitic infections (sometimes)
- neoplasia (rarely)
where are secretions collected in a tracheal wash
from the distal trachea –> reflects whole of lungs but also trachea
what are the two methods of tracheal wash
- trans-tracheal (percutaneous)
- trans-endoscopic (20ml sterile saline instilled and then retrieved)
what are the two types of catheters used for a trans-endoscopic tracheal wash
- single lumen: cytology only
- triple lumen: cytology + microbiology
how are tracheal wash samples submitted
EDTA tube
what is indication of true bacterial infeciton from a tracheal wash
increased cell count
increased % degenerate neutrophils
free bacteria
phagocytosed bacteria (intracellular and extracellular)
what is the normal cytology in a tracheal wash
macrophages ~70%
lymphocytes ~30%
neutrophils <20%
eosinophils <1%
mast cell <1%
ciliated resp epithelial cells/squamous epithelial cells
what is a normal change to cytology in a horse that has recently travelled
tracheal wash neutrophilia
can briefly have up to 50% neutrophils (and rarely even higher) but would expect to then decrease and also have no clinical problems
what is seen here from a tracheal aspirate

healthy macrophages
what is seen here from a tracheal aspirate

active macrophages surrounded by multiple degenerate neutrophils
possibly caused by infection
what is shown here from a tracheal aspirate

multiple eosinophils
what is shown here from a tracheal aspirate

ciliated tracheal epithelial cells
how is tracheal wash microbiology done
trans-tracheal sample
or
guarded trans-endoscopic sample (triple lumen catheter)
what bacterial can be cultured from a tracheal wash
aerobic and anaerobic
fungal?
what do you need to differentiate from a tracheal microbial wash
- significant isolate vs contaminant
- may be non-pathogenic and potentially pathogenic bacteria present in clinically normal horses
what does bronchoalveolar lavage collect
respiratory secretions from the peripheral lung (alevoli and distal bronchioles)
not interchangeable with tracheal wash
provides more information –> if diffuse lower resp tract pathology, but may miss focal patholgoy
how is bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) done
blind BAL tube (fogarty)
via endoscope (bronchoscopy)
how is bronchoalveolar lavage done blindly
tends to sample right dorsocaudal lobe
via endoscope, after tracheal wash, utilize the catether to deliver lignocaine at the carina
pass sterile BAL tube using sterile gloves
what should you see in the BAL sample
it should be foamy –> see the surfactant
what is the normal cytology in a BAL
macrophages 40-60%
lymphocytes 20-40%
neutrophils <5%
eosinophils <1%
mast cell <2%



