Stridor Flashcards
What is a term used for horses to describe noisy breathing in general?
Stridor
Can a horse manifest stridor in the absence of respiratory distress?
How is respiratory distress define here?
- Yes
- Prolonged dyspnea manifested
How does a horse with stridor not associated with distress usually appear at rest?
Normal with no difficulty breathing observed.
What are 4 examples of causes of stridor not associated with distress?
- Dorsal displacement of soft palate (DDSP)
- Epiglottic entrapment (EE)
- Laryngeal hemiplegia
- Arytenoid chondritis
Causes of stridor not associated with distress are usually temporary obstructions due to what type of changes in the upper airway?
Associated with what?
- Dynamic changes
- Some underlying disease/abnormality
Many, but not all, dynamic airway obstruction cases have a history of what?
An abnormal noise
What are 5 other terms that you may hear used to refer to dorsal displacement of the soft palate (DDSP)?
- Choking up
- Flip their palate
- Swallow their tongues
- Elongated soft palate
- Soft palate paralysis or paresis
What are the 2 types of DDSP?
- Intermittent
- Persistent
Which is more common: intermittent or persistent DDSP?
Intermittent
Is DDSP considered a significant performance-limiting condition in the horse?
When is it seen?
- Yes
- Only seen at exercise
Even though some horses are “corrected” for DDSP by trimming the caudal margin of the soft palate, there is usually no evidence of what?
So what are they thinking??
- No evidence of overabundant tissue…which is why doing this makes no sense…
- Thought is that the surgery causes fibrosis and “firming” of the caudal palate edge
Typically, persistent DDSP are what in origin?
Neurogenic in origin
Causes of which form of DDSP are often multi-factorial and varied?
Intermittent DDSP
What are 6 possible causes of intermittent DDSP?
- Thyroid muscle dysfunction
- Inflammation
- Retraction of the tongue
- Retraction of the larynx by extensive head flexion
- Hypoplastic epiglottis
- Upper and lower respiratory disease
What are 6 possible clinical signs that can be seen with DDSP?
- Exercise intolerance
- “Chocking”: loud gurgling or fluttering noise
- Generation of noise
- Nervous/tense horse
- Excessive neck stretching and swallowing
- Coughing while eating
What is a sign of exercise intolerance seen in race horses with DDSP?
When is the seen?
- Speed slowing dramatically during racing - “quitting”
- Usually last half of race
Horses with DDSP are often presented for what reason?
Generation of a noise
Approximately what percentage of DDSP cases do NOT make a noise?
30%
During what phase(s) of respiration is noise generated with DDSP?
What is the main component?
- Inspiration and expiration
- Mainly expiratory component
What is a possible sign that can be seen with DDSP that is due to air during expiration being expelled into both the nasopharynx and oropharynx?
Which way is air normally expelled during expiration?
- Puffing of the cheeks
- Nasopharynx
What are 4 aspects of diagnosing DDSP?
- Clinical signs
- History
- Expiratory noise on sound analysis
- Endoscopy
What are 2 normal features of an epiglottis that can be seen that tells you it is positioned normally when viewing through an endoscope?
- Serrated edges
- Distinct surface vasculature
A horse affected by DDSP will have difficulty doing what?
Replacing epiglottis in normal position after swallowing.