Equine adult diarrhoea Flashcards
what does nosocomical mean?
a term for a hospital-acquired infection, or an infection that occurs in a hospital or other healthcare facility.
what is the deffiniotn of diarrhoea?
- Increased frequency and change in consistency of faeces
- Some may use it interchangeably with colitis.
what are the requiments for an unwell horse to be isolated and why is this?
2 out of the three:
- diarrhoea
- pyrexia
- neutropenia
if just diarrhoea that has been progressing for 24-48hours, many people would still recommend isolating
it is hard to find out what the source of diarrhoea is therefore it needs to be isolated if paired with neutrophilia or pyrexia as there is a risk it could be infectious
what are the common causes of acute diarrhoea in adult horses?
- Salmonella spp.
- Clostridium difficile
- Clostridium perfringens
- Coronavirus
- Cyathostomiasis
- Antimicrobial Associated
- Right Dorsal Colitis
- Grain overload
- Dietary
what are the important factors about salmonella infection in horses?
Some serotypes are zoonotic, Nosocomial
◦ typhimurium most frequently isolated
* Common to have large volume watery D+
◦ Bacteraemia
* Intermittent shedding
what are the important factors about clostridium infection in horses? what species commonly affect horses? what is the difference between the two?
Clostridium difficile & Clostridium perfringens
* Most commonly: Antimicrobial associated and nosocomial
* Part of the normal flora in all ages –> Low numbers (Do not produce toxins)
* Toxins produced –> disease
C. difficile
* More common than perfringens
* Often associated with antimicrobial associated colitis
* Could be a reservoir for human Clostridium difficile infection
C. perfringens
* Seen with haemorrhagic D++
◦ Mainly neonates but adults too
what virus associated with outbreakes can cause diarrhoea in hores and is not yet fully understood?
coronavirus
what is the most important equine parasitic disease? what clinical disease does it cause, when is this seen?
Cyathostomiasis
* Pre-patent disease - means a negative test dose not rule out this disease
* Most commonly seen in spring –> Sudden mass emergence –> Clinical disease
◦ Mucosal injury
◦ Ulceration
◦ Inflammation
why can antibiotics cause diarrhoea in horses?
- Disruption of GI flora
- Lack of competition for nutrients
- Pathogenic bacteria able to proliferate
Obligate anaerobe population of the flora is most important –> Antibiotics affecting these have a higher incidence of causing D+
what is the cause of Right dorsal colitis, what does it cause and what is the mechanism? what drug is it more common with?
- NSAID Toxicity –> Often in horses receiving higher than licensed doses
◦ Can still occur with normal dose
◦ Does not have to be long term use
◦ Can occur in normovolaemic horses at normal doses
causes diarrhorea:
mechanism: Changes GI blood flow
◦ Affects protective mechanism
- More common with oral phenylbutazone
- Less so with COX-2 selective drugs
what are the two food causes of diarrhoea in adult horses?
Grain overload
* History of horse gaining access to large quantity of hard feed
* SI digestion overwhelmed and soluble CHO enters LI
* Rapid fermentation by lactic acid producing bacteria lowers pH –> Gram negative bacteria die –> endotoxin released
* Other bacteria overgrow and gut wall becomes compromised –> Bacteria and toxins enter the circulation
◦ SIRS
◦ Osmotic diarrhoea due to lactic acid being poorly absorbed
◦ Severe (often-fatal) laminitis
Dietary
Imbalance? Abnormal fermentation? Change in flora?
what are the risk factors for acute diarrhoea in adult horses?
Gastrointestinal disease
Immunosuppression
Antimicrobials
General anaesthesia
Recent abdominal surgery
Hospitalisation
Other horses
Dietary changes
what are the common causes of chronic diarrhoea in adult horses?
- Salmonella spp.
- Cyathostomiasis
- Right Dorsal Colitis
- Sand enteropathy
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Dietary
what are the risk factors for chronic sand-induced D+?
- Abnormal accumulation of sand in the large intestine
Risk factors: - Pasture access on sandy soil
- Overgrazed pastures
- Fed on the ground
what are the inflammaotry bowel diseases that can cause chronic diarrhoea in horses?
- Multisystemic eosinophilic epitheliotropic disease (MEED)
- Granulomatous enteritis
- Lymphocytic/plasmocytic enteritis/colitis
- Lymphosarcoma
