Equine colic Flashcards
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Where do tapeworms like to live?
The ileo-cecal junction
**Impaction sites for horses
stomach, ileum, cecum, pelvic flexture, right dorsal/tranverse colon, descending (small) colon
What part of the GI tract has the most musculature of the SI?
Ileum
Infront of the root of the mesentary=
cannot palpate on rectal examination
Can you palpate right dorsal colon and transverse colon on rectal exam?
No
Equine colic can be secondary to…
gallstones, hepatitis, urinary tract obstruction, acute renal failure, diet, peritonitis, etc.
Which is more common, strangulated or non-strangulated lesions? Which are more painful, SI or LI lesions??
Strangulated lesions are more common; SI lesions are more painful (exception is colon torsion where there is ischemia and torsion)
Complete obstruction is more painful than incomplete obstruction. What is the most painful type of colic?
colonic torsion
What is normal HR for horse? What will HR be for colic horse?
normal is around 44bpm, colic horse will be about 48-52bpm with moderate colic. severe cases will have HR close to 70-120 bpm
horse with more than 120bpm= dead T/F
True!!
10 cases of colic per __ horse years.
100
alfalfa hay predisposes to _____
enetroliths
Bermuda grass hay predisposes horses to
impactions, esp. ileal impactions
10 horses per __ colic cases need surgery and will die without it. usually 5 out of the 10 will go into surgery, and only ___ may live through it
100;4
10 horses out of 100 colic cases that need surgery- what is the summary of statistics?
About 6 die, 5 that needed surgery did not get it, and about 1 of the 5 that had surgery died anyway
__-__% need surgery, mild colic is resolved ___% of the time
5-15%; 75%
What initial exam should we do for our PE of a possible colic horse?
do TPR, PCV/TP, skin turgor, mm, rectal exam, nasogastric decompression- reflux with obstruction or enteritis, and/or abdominocentesis unless only mild case….
Can also us U/S to see if there is any wall thickness or abnormal positions of adbominal contents
___ before NSAIDs
TPR
Temp before ____
rectal
When do we do PCV/TP?
Only if horse has above average signs of colic, cheap, readily available
What does elevated PCV mean??
What value should PCV be in normal horses??
dehydration. Fluid losses, possible endotoxemia
PCV should be 40-46% in thoroughbred and 31-43% In other breeds
Will have spontaneous reflux with obstruction of what part of GI tract?
SI
What do we do if patient has fever with colic signs?? what is considered a fever in horses?
DO NOTTT open up for surgery right away because patient probably has an infectious abdominal trac; 101.5 and above is considered a fever in horses.
Horse in shock vitals:
Tacky, bright red mm, HR over 44bpm, PCV increased BUT LOW TP
What does it mean if there is increased vascular permeability, so losing proteins and RBCs marginate to vessel walls? What about high PCV and low TP?
Endotoxemia; shock
How do we tx endotoxemia?
with polymyxin B which is in Neosporin
Toxic systemically at high doses
Give a low dose only to welllll hydrated patients!!!
what organ are we concerned about with nephrosplenic ligament entrapment?
Spleen and GI
What are the r/o for no gi sounds?
complete obstruction, severe shock, endotoxemia
What are the r/o for hyper motile GI tract (hank lol)
spasmodic or gas colic, or impending colitis
***MM pale horse r/o list (remember for MM look at vulva, prepuce)
anemia, decreased circulating volume, early shock
What does a purple line around gums mean?
“toxic line”, means later stages of endotoxemia, signifies venous pooling
What does CRT more than 2 sec mean?
Perfusion problems
What do tachy, not moist mm mean?
3-5% dehydrated (5-7% if positive skin tent)
what tube is best for nasogastric reflux/gastric distension relief?
larger tube is better, esp. one with end hole and side hole(s) to allow for us to know if stomach seems distended
stomach usually holds 1-2L of fluid but can hold ___-__ when distended
9-10L
What are our r/o if we find brown, hemorrhagic red reflux from NG tube?
anterior enteritis or necrotic strangulation obstruction (of pain resolves after tubing it was likely anterior enteritis)
What provides critical information about the status of the GI tract?
Abdominocentesis
Better to tx ____ ____ medically than w sx
anterior enteritis
Normal colon wall thickness in horse is __-__ mm
1-2mm
What are some major findings that help us differentiate between anterior enteritis and other SI lesions?
Anterior enteritis will have pain relief after refluxing, abdominocentesis will have straw colored slightly turbid fluid with high protein count (>2.5) and low nucleated count, wall will be thickened with edema on U/S, increased rectal temperate slightly
What are indications for sx?
severe pain, noooo gut sounds, large volume of yellow alkaline reflux, marked bowel distension on rectal exam, peritoneal fluid high WBC and protein, signs of CV collapse without signs of sepsis
What are CI of doing surgery?
fever, neutropenia or neutrophilia, foul smelling red brown reflux (anterior enteritis and just tube them and medically mange them), evidence of extraintestinal pain
What are some factors related to poor prognosis?
High PCV, systolic BP <100 or weak pulses, high HR, leukopenia, serum lactate >6 and PCV >50
Serum lactate > 6 and PCV >50=
death.
