Owner-reported coughing and nasal discharge are associated with clinical findings, arterial oxygen tension, mucus score and bronchoprovocation in horses with recurrent airway obstruction in a field setting.

Gerber, Vinzenz; Rettmer, Helen; Lanz, Simone; Hoffman, A.M.; Oertly, M. (2014). Owner-reported coughing and nasal discharge are associated with clinical findings, arterial oxygen tension, mucus score and bronchoprovocation in horses with recurrent airway obstruction in a field setting. Equine veterinary journal, 47(3), pp. 291-295. Wiley-Blackwell 10.1111/evj.12286

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REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY

In clinical practice, veterinarians often depend on owner-reported signs to assess the clinical course of horses with recurrent airway obstruction (RAO).

OBJECTIVES

To test whether owner-reported information on frequency of coughing and observation of nasal discharge are associated with clinical, cytological and bronchoprovocation findings in RAO-affected horses in nonstandardised field conditions.

STUDY DESIGN

Cross-sectional study comparing healthy and RAO-affected horses.

METHODS

Twenty-eight healthy and 34 RAO-affected Swiss Warmblood horses were grouped according to owner-reported 'coughing frequency' and 'nasal discharge'. Differences between these groups were examined using clinical examination, blood gas analyses, endoscopic mucus scores, cytology of tracheobronchial secretion and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and airway hyperresponsiveness determined by plethysmography with histamine bronchoprovocation.

RESULTS

Frequently coughing horses differed most markedly from healthy control animals. Histamine bronchoprovocation-derived parameters were significantly different between the healthy control group and all RAO groups. Mucus grades and tracheobronchial secretion and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid neutrophil percentages had particularly high variability, with overlap of findings between groups. Owner satisfaction with the clinical status of the horse was high, even in severely affected horses.

CONCLUSIONS

Owner-reported coughing and nasal discharge are associated with specific clinical and diagnostic findings in RAO-affected horses in field settings. While airway hyperresponsiveness differentiates best between healthy horses and asymptomatic RAO-affected horses, the absence of coughing and nasal discharge does not rule out significant neutrophilic airway inflammation. Owner satisfaction with the clinical status of the horse was uninformative.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

05 Veterinary Medicine > Research Foci > Veterinary Public Health / Herd Health Management
05 Veterinary Medicine > Research Foci > Host-Pathogen Interaction
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine (DKV) > ISME Equine Clinic Bern > ISME Equine Clinic, Internal medicine
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine (DKV)

UniBE Contributor:

Gerber, Vinzenz, Rettmer, Helen, Lanz, Simone Nicole

Subjects:

600 Technology > 630 Agriculture

ISSN:

0425-1644

Publisher:

Wiley-Blackwell

Language:

English

Submitter:

Andrea Gassmann-Suter

Date Deposited:

24 Dec 2014 11:34

Last Modified:

02 Mar 2023 23:25

Publisher DOI:

10.1111/evj.12286

PubMed ID:

24761754

Uncontrolled Keywords:

airway hyperresponsiveness, clinical signs, histamine, horse, lower airway disease, lung function

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.60128

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/60128

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