Keeping the airway healthy Flashcards
How are Equine Loer resp tract disorders classified?
What diseases fo the airways?
- Asthma -> mild or severe (RAO)
- Infectious airway diseases
Diseases of the lung tissues?
- Pneumonia
→ Bacterial
→ Sterile (Chronic Interstitial Inflammatory Infiltrates/pneumonitis) - Equine Multinodular Pulmonary Fibrosis
- Neoplasia
What other lower resp dx?
- Exercise Induced Pulmonary Haemorrhage
- Congestive HEart Failure (pulm oedema)
Give the clinical picture associated ith infectious airway diseases?
- Any age – young>old
- Acute presentation
- Cough/nasal discharge?
- Fever?
- Dull / inappetent?
What different causes of Infectious Airway diseases?
- Viral: EHV, EIV, ERV, (EVA)
- Bacterial: Streptococci,
Actinobacillus,
Rhodococcus etc. - Parasitic: Dictyocaulus
How do we devide Equine Asthma?
- Severe Equine Asthma (‘SEA’)
→ Equine Pasture Asthma (‘EPA’) - Mild/moderate Equine Asthma (‘MEA’)
Clinical picture for MILD Equine Asthma?
- Common in young performance horses
- Any age – young > old
- Subacute-chronic presentation * poor performance
- Intermittent cough (only 38% of cases?)
- Nasal discharge?
- Lung auscultation – normal sounds
Causation of Mild Equine Asthma?
- Poor ventilation
- Dusty hay / bedding
- NH3,H2S etc,….
- Infectious agents?
Clinical Picture for SVERE Equine Asthma?
- Common in mature horses and ponies
→ (usually > 7 years old) - Subacute-chronic presentation
- Abdominal effort/nostril flaring
- Coughing
- “Wheezes and crackles”
Causation of Severe equine asthma?
- Poor ventilation:
→ Dusty hay/straw bedding (moulds)
→ NH3, H2S,…. - Seasonal environmental allergens?( PAsture asthma?)
What is the pathophysiology of Severe Equine Asthma?
KEY characteristics : REVERSIBLE airway obstruction
How to tell apart different causes ? What is our diagnostic approaches?
- History/signalment
- Clinical signs
- Blood tests
- Endoscopy findings
- Airway cytology
- Airway microbiology
Clinical exam for airway dx?
- Rectal temp
- Nasal discharge
- Lymph nodes
- Auscultation
-> Tracheal sump - mucus accumulation
-> Lung fields (crackles, wheezing)
-> Rebreathing exam (induces coughing?)
-> Heart
Signs of airway dx in horses?
- cough
- Nasal discharge
- Abnormal pattern/sounds
What is the normal breathing pattern of a horse?
→ Normal respiration in the resting adult horse is slow (8–16 breaths/min) with
minimal chest or abdominal wall movement
→ Costo-abdominal (= slight movement of costal arch, followed by the slight endexpiratory abdominal lift)
→ Slight movement of the nostrils.
What is abnormal breathing pattern of a horse?
-> Inc rate & depth
-> changed pattern of breathing should be noted
-> as should any abnormal sounds associated with breathing
What does an expiratory dyspnoea show us?
= exaggeration of the biphasic expiratory phase with increased incorporation of the abdominal muscles → producing an obvious biphasic or double expiratory lift: ‘heave’
Typical of small airway obstruction.
What are signs of Expiratory dyspnoea?
- Prolonged and laboured expiration
- Exaggerated expiratory contraction of the abdominal muscles
- Heave line in chronic cases
- Rhythmic pumping of the anus
- Dilation of the nares throughout the respiratory cycle
- Extension of the head and neck
What does Inspiratory Dyspnoea tell us?
= associated with a stertorous or stridorous noiseduring inspiration
Indicative of upper airway obstruction.
Occasionally, inspiratory dyspnoea may occur with severe restrictive lung diseases (e.g. pneumonia, interstitial disease, pneumothorax, rib fracture).
hat signs of inspiratory dyspnoea?
- Prolonged and laboured inspiration
- Increased respiratory effort
- Dilation of the nares throughout the respiratory cycle
- Extension of the head and neck
What does combined inspiratory and expiratory dyspnoea show ?
Usually with tachypnoea.
= Suggestive of severe upper or lower airway obstruction, diffuse pulmonary disease or pleural disease.
What does combined dyspnoea look like?
Rapid and shallow breathing
Describe Increased audibility og lung sounds?
INCREASED AUDIBILITY of normal breath sounds occurs with hyperventilation and occurs focally over areas of consolidated lung tissue.
→ A generalized increase in the intensity of airflow sounds is suggestive of lower airway disease such as SEA (= inflamed
airways)