Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Suspected venous air embolism in a horse.
- Journal:
- The Veterinary record
- Year:
- 2005
- Authors:
- Bradbury, L A et al.
- Affiliation:
- Philip Leverhulme Large Animal Hospital
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A horse that had been suffering from a blockage in its large intestine for 10 days underwent surgery to try to fix the problem, but it didn't improve as expected. Before a second surgery could be done, the horse accidentally pulled out a tube from a catheter in its neck, which allowed air to enter its bloodstream. This caused the horse to become very restless, but it was put back under anesthesia, and the blockage was removed through a cut in its colon. After waking up, the horse experienced severe itching that lasted for about 12 hours, which was likely due to the air in its veins.
Abstract
A horse which had had a caecal impaction for 10 days was treated by means of an ileocolostomy [corrected] but failed to respond satisfactorily. Before a second laparotomy was performed it was observed to have dislodged the extension set from a jugular catheter and air was heard being sucked into the vein. It became very agitated but was anaesthetised again and the impaction was removed through an incision in the apex of the colon [corrected] After recovering from the anaesthesia it developed severe signs of pruritus which subsided only after 12 hours. These signs were considered most likely to have resulted from a venous air embolism.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15704551/