Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
()-associated disease, epiploic foramen entrapment, and gastric rupture in a Thoroughbred racehorse: case report and literature review.
- Journal:
- Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc
- Year:
- 2022
- Authors:
- Asin, Javier et al.
- Affiliation:
- University of California-Davis · United States
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A 7-year-old Thoroughbred racehorse was euthanized after experiencing colic, which is severe abdominal pain, for several days. A postmortem examination revealed that part of the horse's intestine had become trapped in a small opening called the epiploic foramen, leading to a serious condition known as strangulating intestinal obstruction. This caused the stomach to rupture and toxins to leak into the abdomen, resulting in inflammation and infection. The examination also showed that the affected intestine had significant damage, including bleeding and tissue death. Unfortunately, the treatment was not successful, and the horse had to be euthanized due to the severity of its condition.
Abstract
Epiploic foramen entrapment (EFE) is a common cause of small intestinal colic in horses and may lead to intestinal strangulation. Strangulating intestinal obstruction impairs the gastrointestinal outflow and can lead to secondary gastric rupture and endotoxemia.can cause enterotyphlocolitis with colic in horses of all ages, and the process is commonly referred to as-associated disease (CDAD). Here we report the results of the postmortem examination of a 7-y-old Thoroughbred racehorse with concurrent CDAD, EFE, and gastric rupture that was euthanized following a history of colic over several days. A segment of distal jejunum and proximal ileum had passed through the epiploic foramen, and the intestinal wall was thickened and dark-red. The remaining small intestinal loops were distended and filled with blood-tinged contents. Peritonitis had resulted from escape of gastric contents into the abdominal cavity through a tear in the major curvature of the stomach. Histologically, the incarcerated segment had acute transmural hemorrhage with congestion and mucosal necrosis; neutrophilic infiltrates with fibrin thrombi were in the mucosa of the non-incarcerated small intestinal segments.toxins were detected in the small intestinal contents, andwas isolated from the small intestine, colon, and cecum.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35949155/