Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Endometritis in the mare caused by a Coryneform organism--a case report and experimental studies.
- Journal:
- The Cornell veterinarian
- Year:
- 1984
- Authors:
- Blue, M G & Hannwacker, M A
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A mare had a persistent infection in her uterus caused by a type of bacteria that hasn't been fully classified yet. After receiving a treatment of a disinfectant solution for five days, the discharge from her vulva stopped, and she seemed to be back to normal. A follow-up examination showed that the severe inflammation in her uterus had mostly healed just two days after starting the treatment. In a separate experiment, three other mares that were thought to be resistant to this type of infection were given a single dose of the same bacteria, and they all recovered completely within two weeks, with the fastest recovery happening in the mare that was in heat at the time. Overall, the treatment worked well, but the study also highlighted that factors unique to each mare might play a significant role in how their uterus responds to infections.
Abstract
Persistent purulent endometritis in a mare was attributed to an unclassified species of Corynebacterium. Following intrauterine infusions of 20% betadine for 5 days the purulent vulval discharge ceased and the mare appeared clinically normal. Based on histological examination of endometrial biopsy samples, the severe acute inflammatory reaction had largely resolved 2 days after therapy. Three maiden mares considered resistant to bacterial endometritis received single intrauterine inoculations of 1.8 X 10(9) colony-forming units of the Corynebacterium species. The uterine response was followed by vaginal speculum examinations, uterine cultures and cytology, and endometrial histology. After an acute inflammatory reaction, each mare had recovered completely within 2 weeks. Most rapid recovery occurred in the mare in estrus at the time of inoculation. Subsequent secondary infections were detected in two mares. The uncertainty of correlations between results obtained by various diagnostic techniques emphasized the problems associated with each. This report illustrates the concept that endometritis in individual mares may relate more to as yet unidentified "mare factors" controlling uterine defense than to primary invasion by bacteria.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6434232/