Equine Asthma Flashcards
Physical exam of thoracic cavity?
- Review the landmarks of the thoracic cavity
- Use a systematic approach
- Examine in several areas
Discuss auscultation at rest and re-breathing?
Is there air moving throughout the entire lung field?
Areas of dullness suggesting pleural effusion or pulmonary consolidation/abscessation/masses
Are there any abnormal sounds?
Large airway sounds suggesting consolidation
Wheezes and crackles suggesting airway narrowing, or discharges in airways
Does the horse tolerate and recover from re- breathing rapidly?
Coughing, distress suggesting pleural pain
Is there a tracheal rattle?
Suggesting discharge pooling at the thoracic inlet
Discuss susceptibility to equine respiratory disease?
The prevalence of disease (morbidity) varies within different age groups due to
- immunological factors
- environmental factors
- managemental factors
Discuss susceptibility of diff diseases in horses at diff ages?
Diseases of foals
- Infectious causes (bacterial)
- Congenital abnormality
- Sepsis, trauma, other
Diseases of weanlings
- Infectious causes (bacterial/parasite/virus) & contagious
Disease of young adults (young race horse 4-5 yrold)
- EQUINE ASTHMA SYNDROME
- May be precipitated by Infectious causes (bacterial and viral and mycoplasma)
Disease of the older/aged/mature horses
- EQUINE ASTHMA SYNDROME
Discuss diseases of mature horses further?
Diseases of mature horses
Infectious causes
- Lungworm
- Tuberculosis (occacionalmycobacteria infection) •
Inflammatory disease
- EQUINE ASMTHA SYNDROME (by far most common)
Thoracic neoplasia (non of these are common)
- Pulmonary Granular Cell Tumour
- Cranial Mediastinal Lymphosarcoma
- Malignant melanoma
Miscellaneous
- Exercise induced pulmonary heamorrhage(cause poor performance in race horse)
- Interstitial pneumonia
- Pulmonary interstitial fibrosis
- Equine pulmonary nodular fibrosis
- Granulamotous pneumonia
Discuss equine asthma syndrome?
Redefined in 2016 for to encapsulate RAO and IAD
- Causes chronic cough
- Excess respiratory mucus production
- Snotty nose and discharge usually bilateral
- Poor performance
- However systemically healthy otherwise may have a snotty nose
Recurrent Airway Obstruction
- Old/mature horse
- Chronic
Inflammatory airway disease
- Any age (typically younger horse condition)
- Temporary condition if managed appropriately animal will recover
Not a disease continuum (probably)
Compare recurrent airway obstruction and inflammatory airway disease?
Compare recurrent airway obstruction and inflammatory airway disease?
What is the pathogenesis of RAO?
Neutrophilic inflammation
- Type I (mast cell degranulation)
- Type III (Immune complex)
- Type IV (delayed) hypersensitivity
What is the pathogenesis of Inflammatory airway disease (IAD)?
IAD
Airway hyper-responsiveness
- Not allergic response an inflammatory response in response to non-specific stimuli
- Feature of many inflammatory airway diseases
- Contributes to airway obstruction
- airways have an increased sensitivity to excitatory neurotransmitters, inflammatory mediators, and nonspecific irritants such as dusts.
Compare pathogenesis of RAO and IAD?
Discuss recurrent airway obstruction?
Equine Asthma: RAO
- Chronic disease
- poor performance to overt signs of respiratory dysfunction
- with/without coughing
- Nasal discharge
- hypertrophy of the abdominal muscles
- Exacerbation of other respiratory disease
- Upper airway collapse egDDSP
- EIPH
- housed in poorly ventilated stall in ‘winter’ OR at pasture during summer
- previous episodes, worsening over the years Nasal discharge worse at onset of exercise
Discuss inflammatory airway disease?
Equine Asthma: IAD
- Non specific inflammatory condition
- Affects younger horses (primarily)
- Secondary to airway hyper responsiveness
- Viral, Bacterial, Toxicological, Irritant
- Often subclinical –results in only poor performance
- Difficult to diagnose
- Chronic cough -variable
- Lower airway disease with excess mucus but not RAO
Discuss acute recurrent airway obstruction?
ACUTE & SEVERE RESPIRATORY DISTRESS
- Usually only RAO that has acute response
- increased respiratory effort (expiratory)
- double expiratory effort / dyspnea(biphasic respiration becomes more obvious in horses with RAO)
Usually seen in horses previously diagnosed and treated
- Treatment failure
- Environmental challenge
- Secondary infection
What can be seen on this tracheal endoscopy?
Tracheal endoscopy.
RAO
Evidence of inflammation and lots of mucopus.