Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Serum hepatitis associated with commercial plasma transfusion in horses.
- Journal:
- Journal of veterinary internal medicine
- Year:
- 2005
- Authors:
- Aleman, Monica et al.
- Affiliation:
- University of California · United States
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
This report discusses four horses that sadly died after receiving commercial plasma transfusions. Serum hepatitis, a serious liver condition, was linked to these transfusions, which involved giving the horses between 1.5 to 5 liters of plasma, and one horse also received an extra 8 liters of fresh blood. About 41 to 60 days after the transfusions, these horses showed signs of severe abdominal pain that didn’t respond to treatment, became very tired, or died suddenly. In two cases, one horse showed brain issues related to the liver damage. While this type of serum hepatitis seems to be rare, it is an important risk to be aware of when considering plasma transfusions for horses.
Abstract
This report describes 4 fatal cases of serum hepatitis associated with the administration of commercial plasma in the horse. Serum hepatitis in the horse is characterized by acute hepatic central lobular necrosis, and it has been associated with the administration of biological products of equine origin. None of these horses had a recent history of equine biologic-origin vaccination; however, they had received 1.5-5 L of commercial plasma, and in I horse, an additional 8 L of fresh blood. Acute, severe colic unresponsive to medical therapy, lethargy, or sudden death developed in these 4 horses 41 to 60 days later. Two of the horses developed encephalopathy, confirmed in 1 horse by the presence of severe diffuse Alzheimer type II astrocytes in the brain. Although the prevalence of serum hepatitis associated with the administration of commercial plasma appears to be low in the horse, it should be considered an uncommon but potentially fatal risk factor.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15715060/