Equine Wound Management Flashcards
Name 4 Types of Wound
Traumatic, Surgical, Chemical, therma, irradiation
How can wound location affect the rate of healing?
- distal limb wounds heal slowly: movement, blood supply, local factors
- wounds on the trunk heal much faster large ability for wound contraction
- also need to consider underlying structures e.g. joints, tendons, bone etc
List the stages of wound healing
Inflammatory Debridement Proliferation: Fibroplasia Proliferation: Epithelialisation Proliferation: Angiogenesis
Describe the inflammatory stage of wound healing
duration and intensity determined by nature of injury
becomes prolonged in the presence of necrotic debris, foreign material or infection
a prolonged inflammatory phase retards long-term healing due to extended proliferation
Describe the Debridement stage of wound healing
often considered as part of inflammatory phase
neutrophils and macrophages phagocytose bacteria and enzymatically remove necrotic tissue
length of this stage depends on the extent of the wound and amount of necrotic tissue
Describe the Proliferation : fibroplasia stage of wound healing
Fibroblasts migrate into the wound along fibrin strands
Healing wound = granulation tissue
Myofibroblasts cause would contration
Describe the Proliferation: Epithelialisation stage of wound healing
very sensitive stage in healing inhibited by infection desiccation of the wound surface exuberant granulation tissue repeated dressing changes slow: estimated rate of 0.2mm/day for flank wounds, 0.09mm/day for limb wounds
Describe the Proliferation: Angiogenesis stage of wound healing
complex series of events involving formation of new capillary bed out of underlying microvasculature
mediated by diverse soluble cytokines and chemotactic agents from serum and ECM
exuberant granulation tissue often characterised by excessive microvasculature
How can a tumour be spread into a wound and what can it be mistaken for?
- Remember: some tumours may appear very similar to granulation tissue
- fibroblastic sarcoids
- haemangiomas
- SCCs
- Can be spread by fly bites so can be inoculated into wound
What 2 factors may you focus on when completing a history for a horse with a wound
- Age of the wound
* Vaccination status of the horse (tetanus is a key one here)
Name three fluids that may be used to clean wounds
- 0.05% chlorhexidine
- 0.1-0.2% povidone iodine solution
- in general isotonic fluids are often a safer choice
- OR just water
Name three conditions associated with wounds which may cause maked lameness in horses
- septic synovial structures
- fractures
- tendon injury
Describe the use of Lavage for wound prep (Include equipment and process)
Can be achieved using 18 gauge needle and 50ml syringe, >15psi forces bacteria deeper into the wound (use of an excessively high pressure can cause further problems
How does a lavage help with wound healing?
• Lavage removes contamination shortens inflammatory and débridement phases
Describe the process of Hydrosurgical Debridement and its uses in wound preparation
- high pressure jet of sterile saline parrallel to the wound surface
- precise and controllable means of cleaning, débriding and preparing the wound
What processes follow cleaning in the preparation of equine wounds?
- Protect wound with water-based gel
- Clip surrounding area
- Palpate area carefully examine for areas of heat, swelling and pain
Describe healthy synovial fluid
- Pale yellow, translucent
- Stringing between fingers
- <1 x 109 nucleated cells/ml
- < 10% neutrophils
- <20 g/l
Describe pathoilogical synovial fluid
- Haemorrhagic, often dark yellow, flocculent material, increased volume
- Reduced viscosity/watery
- > 10 x 109 nucleated cells/ml
- > 80% neutrophils
- > 40 g/l
What adjunctive medication would you give alongside equine wound management
Analgesics - may mask deterioration of clinical signs
Tetanus anti-toxin - provides cover for 4-5 weeks, can be administered concurrently with tetanus
What bacteria is commonly isolated from synovial fluid following iatrogenic sepsis?
Staph. aureus
Name three antibiotics that could be given if synovial sepsis or an open fracture is suspected following an equine wound
- gentamicin (6.6mg/kg)
- penicillin (>10mg/kg)
- Intra-articular aminoglycosides