Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Effect of intestinal resection on two juvenile horses with granulomatous enteritis.
- Journal:
- Journal of veterinary internal medicine
- Year:
- 1990
- Authors:
- Schumacher, J et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Large Animal Surgery
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
Two young horses were brought in because they were very tired, losing weight, not eating, and had swelling in their legs and bellies. The first horse was a 12-month-old American Paso Fino colt who also had severe belly pain, while the second was a seven-month-old Tennessee Walking Horse filly who had diarrhea. Blood tests showed that both horses had low protein levels and low white blood cell counts. They both underwent surgery to remove parts of their intestines, which revealed a condition called equine granulomatous enteritis (a type of intestinal inflammation). After surgery, both horses started to feel better within two days, but unfortunately, the colt had to be euthanized four months later due to ongoing abdominal pain, while the filly is doing well and remains healthy 13 months after her surgery.
Abstract
Two horses were presented with lethargy, weight loss, anorexia, and swelling of the limbs and ventral body wall. One horse, a 12-month-old American Paso Fino colt, also had acute abdominal pain. The other horse, a seven-month-old Tennessee Walking Horse (TWH) filly passed diarrheic stools during the initial examination. Each horse had low serum protein, neutropenia, and a normal packed cell volume (3.2 g/dl, 1300 cells/ul, and 38%, respectively, for the colt, and 2.4 g/dl, 696 cells/ul, and 44%, respectively for the filly). After intravenously administering plasma, the colt's PCV dropped to 23%, and the filly's dropped to 30%. During exploratory surgery, 3.5 and 2.0 meters of thickened terminal small intestine were removed from the colt and filly respectively, and a jejunocecostomy performed. The results of histologic examination of resected intestine were consistent with a diagnosis of equine granulomatous enteritis (EGE). Both horses showed clinical improvement within two days after surgery. The colt developed a neutrophilia (20,500 cells/ul) within 24 hours of surgery. Serum protein concentrations remained stable and gradually elevated to normal or near normal values of 7.0 g/dl (colt) and 5.8 g/dl (filly) by two weeks. The colt was killed four months after surgery because of signs of abdominal pain. Postmortem examination revealed a small intestinal volvulus associated with an adhesion. The TWH filly remains clinically normal 13 months after surgery.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2366225/