Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Foal recovering from neonatal isoerythrolysis - what to know
By MacLeay, J M·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2001·Department of Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Neonatal isoerythrolysis involving the Qc and Db antigens in a foal.
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A 48-hour-old Thoroughbred colt was brought in for possible neonatal isoerythrolysis (NI), a condition where the mother's antibodies attack the foal's red blood cells. The colt received supportive treatment and recovered without needing a blood transfusion. In a previous case, the same mare's filly had severe NI and required three transfusions but also recovered. Blood tests showed that the mare and her foals had specific blood antigens that contributed to these issues, indicating that while most NI cases are linked to common antigens, other factors can also play a role.
People also search for: foal neonatal isoerythrolysis treatment · Thoroughbred foal blood problems · mare foal blood type issues
Abstract
In 1992, a multiparous 13-year-old Thoroughbred mare and her 48-hour-old colt were examined because of possible neonatal isoerythrolysis (NI). Supportive treatment was administered, and the foal recovered without requiring a transfusion. According to the owners, the mare had delivered foals without incident during 1987 and 1991. The mare was barren during 1993, but in 1994, delivered a filly that developed severe NI. The foal was given 3 transfusions and eventually recovered without complications. Blood typing analysis of the mare and its foals indicated that all 4 foals were positive for the Qc, Db, and Dq antigens, and the 3 most recently born foals were positive for the Ua antigen; however, the marc was negative for the Qc, Db, Dq, and Ua antigens. The mare did not have alloantibodies against Ua and did not react to the Dq antigen. However, in 1994, the mare reacted against the Db (the reaction was characterized by strong agglutination and an increase in titer at the time of parturition and a subsequent decrease) and Qc (the reaction was characterized by weak lysis and an increase in titer at the time of parturition and a subsequent decrease) antigens. Results of testing in this mare and foals suggested that although approximately 90% of all cases of NI in horses are attributable to the Aa or Qa antigen, other antigens may be involved.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11439776/