Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Attitudes of Australian veterinarians about the cause and treatment of lower-respiratory-tract disease in racehorses.
- Journal:
- Preventive veterinary medicine
- Year:
- 2000
- Authors:
- Christley, R M et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences · Australia
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A survey was conducted among Australian veterinarians who work with racehorses to understand their views on the causes and treatments for lower-respiratory-tract disease, which affects the lungs. The vets believed that exposure to viruses was the main cause of these respiratory issues, but they rarely used specific tests to confirm this. Instead, they mostly listened to the horses' lungs with a stethoscope to diagnose the problem. Many vets thought that bacteria might contribute to the illness later on, so they often prescribed antibiotics, even though they didn't frequently test for bacteria in lung samples. Overall, it seems that the treatment decisions were often based more on general beliefs than on thorough testing of each individual case.
Abstract
A questionnaire was administered to members of the Australian Equine Veterinary Association to investigate their attitudes and behaviours regarding the cause, diagnosis and treatment of lower-respiratory-tract disease in racehorses. The most-important perceived risk factors related to the level of exposure and resistance to infectious agents, whereas factors associated with racing and climatic factors were lower ranked. By far the most-commonly implicated primary cause of disease was respiratory viruses. However, specific diagnostic tests (such as viral serology or virus isolation) were rarely performed. By far the most-common diagnostic procedure was auscultation (without a rebreathing bag). The relative importance of diagnostic procedures was influenced by the proportion of total workload comprising horse work. Many respondents believed that bacteria become secondarily involved in disease; accordingly, antibiotic therapy was the most-commonly reported therapy. However, bacteriology of lower-airway-fluid samples was not commonly performed. The most-commonly used antibiotics were the potentiated sulphonamides (either alone or in combination with mucolytics or bronchodilators), followed by procaine penicillin and penicillin combined with gentamicin. Mainly, treatment would appear to be based on empirical beliefs rather than exhaustive investigation of individual cases.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10913800/