Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Clinical aspects of multinodular pulmonary fibrosis in two warmblood horses.
- Journal:
- The Veterinary record
- Year:
- 2010
- Authors:
- Niedermaier, G et al.
- Affiliation:
- Institute of Veterinary Pathology · Germany
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
Two warmblood horses were taken to a veterinary clinic in Germany because they were losing weight and eating less than usual. One horse had a fever, a fast heartbeat, trouble breathing, and eye problems, while the other had painful sores in its mouth and coughed when eating. Tests showed both horses had some anemia and other blood issues, and X-rays and ultrasounds revealed serious lung problems. Unfortunately, both horses were euthanized due to a poor outlook, and further examination confirmed they had a severe lung disease caused by equine herpesvirus type 5. The treatment did not work, and the horses were diagnosed with equine multinodular pulmonary fibrosis, a serious lung condition.
Abstract
Two warmblood horses with a history of chronic weight loss and inappetence were referred to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Germany, for further examination. The clinical signs in horse 1 were fever, tachycardia and tachypnoea, and chronic ulcerative keratopathy of both eyes. Horse 2 had severe oral ulcerations and was coughing during feeding. In both horses, increased bronchovesicular sounds were heard during auscultation of the lungs. Laboratory findings included mild anaemia, lymphopenia and hypoalbuminaemia. Radiographic examination of the thorax revealed a severe nodular interstitial pattern. Multiple nodular lesions on the surface of the lung were observed by ultrasonographic examination. Light microscopy of lung biopsy specimens obtained from horse 1 revealed a severe chronic fibrosing interstitial pneumonia. Both horses were eventually euthanased because of a poor prognosis. Postmortem examination confirmed severe multinodular fibrosing interstitial pneumonia in both horses, and lung tissue yielded positive results for equine herpesvirus type 5 DNA using PCR assay. On the basis of the clinical, radiographic and pathological findings, as well as the PCR results, the diagnosis of equine multinodular pulmonary fibrosis was established.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20364010/