Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Idiopathic hypocalcemia in foals.
- Journal:
- Journal of veterinary internal medicine
- Year:
- 1997
- Authors:
- Beyer, M J et al.
- Affiliation:
- Hagyard-Davidson-McGee Associates · United States
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
Five thoroughbred foals, four of which were female and one male, were brought to two equine hospitals in Kentucky between 1992 and 1996 because they were showing signs of illness. These foals, aged between 4 days and 5 weeks, had symptoms like a fast heartbeat, excessive sweating, diarrhea or a recent history of it, and stiff muscles or difficulty walking. Four of the foals were very weak, had seizure-like movements, or showed severe muscle stiffness. All five were found to have low calcium levels in their blood, but unfortunately, none of them improved with oral calcium supplements, and they either died or were put to sleep. The exact reason for their low calcium levels was not known, suggesting that there may be different types of this condition in foals.
Abstract
Five thoroughbred foals (4 fillies and 1 colt), all in good to excellent body condition, ranging in age from 4 days to 5 weeks at the time of onset of signs, were presented to 2 Kentucky equine hospitals from 1992 through 1996. All 5 foals presented with tachycardia, hyperhidrosis, diarrhea or a recent history of diarrhea, and muscle rigidity or stiff gait. Four of the 5 foals presented for recumbency, seizure-like activity with opisthotonos, or pronounced extensor muscle rigidity. All 5 foals were hypocalcemic. All foals either died or had euthanasia performed. None responded to oral calcium supplementation. The cause of the hypocalcemia was unknown. Different idiopathic hypocalcemia syndromes may exist in foals.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9470161/