Equine GIT

Question 1

describe how you would do a nasogastric tube placement in a horse

Answer 1

1. get equipment: twitch, tube, bucket of warm water, a pump/syringe, and a collection bucket
2. restrain the horse with a lip chain and sedation, handler should be on the right side of the horse
3. hold the tube in a coil or around your neck
4. use your right hand to hold the horse’s nose and the thumb to reflect the nostril back
5. use the left hand to pass the tube ventral and medial
6. when resistance is felt at the level of the epiglottis and larynx, wait for the horse to swallow
7. after the horse has swallowed, rotate the tube 180 degrees
8. continute to pass the tube down the esophagus
9. make sure you are in the correct place, then proceed to the stomach
10. siphon in some water
11. before taking out the tube, raise the horse’s nose up to let all the remaining fluid go into the horse’s stomach
12. kink the tube off and pull it out

Question 2

how do you know if the nasogastric tube is in the correct place?

Answer 2

1. slight resistance indicated you are in the esophagus, the trachea will have almost none
2. you can see the tube on the side of the neck as it advances
3. you can feel the tube as it advances down the neck
4. negative pressure is obtained when you suck on the tube
5. the horse is not coughing
6. smell the gas
7. rattle test: it will rattle if it’s in the trachea
8. hear stomach bubbles when you blow into the tube

Question 3

where would you preform an abdominocentesis? aka what are your landmarks

Answer 3

cudal to the xiphoid and slightly off to the right of midline

Question 4

list the steps of an abdominosentesis in a horse

Answer 4

1. after identifying the landmarks, clip the hair in a 2 inch square area and do a direty prep of the skin
2. block the skin with 1cc of lidocaine and 2cc in the body wall
3. preform another short scrub prep (sterile scrub not neccessary)
4. lay out all materials in a sterile field (glove wrapper), then open glove
5. open your 15 blade, hold it with your thumb and index finger at the shank and make a stab incision
6. push the teat cannula through a suare gauze, then push the teat cannula into the body wall and through the muscle and feel the pop
7. have your assistant on the left side catch the fluid for you in a tube
8. withdraw the teat cannula and apply pressure for a few seconds, leave open