Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Horse having trouble breathing due to throat abscess - what to do?
By Rigg, D L et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·1985·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Tracheal compression secondary to abscessation of cranial mediastinal lymph nodes in a horse.
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A horse was having trouble breathing and had a condition called laryngeal paralysis, which means the muscles that help control the voice box were not working properly. This was caused by an abscess, or a pocket of infection, in the lymph nodes near the front of the chest, which was pressing on the trachea (the windpipe). The horse needed surgery to drain the abscess and was given antibiotics to fight the infection. After treatment, the trachea returned to its normal size, but the horse still had some ongoing issues with the larynx. Overall, the treatment helped with the breathing problem, but not all issues were fully resolved.
Abstract
Respiratory distress and laryngeal paralysis were found to be caused by a Streptococcus equi abscess of cranial mediastinal lymph nodes, putting pressure on the trachea at the thoracic inlet. Surgical drainage was required to relieve the compression, and long-term antibiotic therapy was used to treat the bacterial infection. The trachea returned to normal diameter but left laryngeal hemiplegia persisted. Peritracheal abscesses should be considered in the differential diagnosis of inspiratory dyspnea of the horse.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3972692/