Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Idiopathic gastroesophageal reflux disease in an adult horse.
- Journal:
- Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
- Year:
- 2004
- Authors:
- Baker, Shannon J et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery · United States
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A 22-year-old female Tennessee Walking Horse was diagnosed with chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease, which means that stomach acid was flowing back into the esophagus. This horse showed signs of teeth grinding and excessive drooling, and an examination revealed ulcers in the esophagus, particularly near where it connects to the stomach. Normally, this kind of esophageal damage in horses is linked to blockages in the stomach, but in this case, no such blockages were found. The treatment aimed to reduce stomach acid and protect the damaged area, but unfortunately, it did not work, and the horse was euthanized after a thorough examination failed to find a physical cause for the reflux.
Abstract
Chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease was diagnosed in a 22-year-old female Tennessee Walking Horse that had signs of bruxism and ptyalism. Esophageal ulceration was detected via endoscopy. Compared with the damage to the proximal portions of the esophagus, the severity of the ulceration increased toward the gastroesophageal junction. Esophageal ulceration attributable to chronic gastric acid reflux is usually secondary to pyloric outflow obstruction in horses. In the horse of this report, there was no evidence of either a chronic pyloric or duodenal obstruction that could have resulted in esophageal ulceration. Esophageal ulceration in this horse was attributed to gastroesophageal reflux disease, a common condition in humans in which the underlying abnormality is functional incompetence of the gastroesophageal junction. Treatment is directed at decreasing gastric acidity and protecting the ulcerated mucosa. In the horse of this report, treatment was unsuccessful and the horse was euthanatized; a physical cause of gastroesophageal reflux disease was not identified during an extensive postmortem examination.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15230453/