Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Arterial blood gas tensions during exercise in a horse with laryngeal hemiplegia, before and after corrective surgery.
- Journal:
- Research in veterinary science
- Year:
- 1984
- Authors:
- Bayly, W M et al.
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
In this study, researchers looked at a thoroughbred horse with left laryngeal hemiplegia, which means one side of its voice box wasn't working properly, making it hard to breathe during exercise. They took blood samples during a 1.6 km run to measure how well the horse was getting oxygen and getting rid of carbon dioxide. Before the horse had surgery to fix the problem, its oxygen levels were low, but after the surgery, the oxygen levels improved significantly, while carbon dioxide levels dropped to normal. The horse's running times didn't change before and after surgery, suggesting that the breathing difficulty from the laryngeal issue was affecting how well it could exercise. Overall, the surgery helped improve the horse's breathing during exercise.
Abstract
Arterial blood samples were collected during maximal exercise over 1.6 km in a thoroughbred horse with left laryngeal hemiplegia. Acid-base and blood gas measurements were performed on each sample and compared to the results from samples which were similarly collected 48 hours after laryngoplasty surgery was performed. Before surgery, the PaO2 was 53.2 mm Hg and the PaCO2 was 58.1 mm Hg after 1.6 km. After surgery, the corresponding results were 83.6 mm Hg (PaO2) and 39.0 mm Hg (PaCO2). There was no significant difference in the times taken for each gallop. The exercise intolerance associated with laryngeal paralysis may be caused by an increase in the oxygen cost of breathing.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6426002/