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Causes of pleural effusions in horses resident in the UK

Johns, I C; Marr, C; Durham, A; Mair, T; McParland, T

Authors

I C Johns

C Marr

A Durham

T Mair

T McParland



Abstract

Pleural effusions (PE) reportedly occur most commonly secondary to bacterial pneumonia with neoplastic effusions contributing a minority of cases. The majority of reports originate from the USA and Australia, where long distance transport of horses, a recognised risk factor, may occur more frequently than in the UK. Anecdotally, a greater proportion of horses with PE are diagnosed with neoplasia in the UK than has been reported. The aim of this retrospective study was to describe the causes of PE in horses in the UK, and to identify markers that can help differentiate between septic and neoplastic causes of PE. Medical records from 4 equine hospitals in the UK were searched for horses diagnosed with PE. Information recorded included case background, admission physical examination and biochemical findings, and characteristics of the effusion (volume, cell count, total protein [TP] concentration). A total of 69 horses were identified, with 26 (38%) diagnosed with a neoplastic effusion. The remainder were categorised as septic, including 14/43 (32.5%) that had a history of international transport. Horses with septic effusions were significantly younger (8 vs. 13 years; P = 0.001) and had significantly smaller volumes of pleural fluid drained at admission (9.8 l vs. 32.2 l; P

Citation

Johns, I. C., Marr, C., Durham, A., Mair, T., & McParland, T. (2017). Causes of pleural effusions in horses resident in the UK. Equine Veterinary Education, 29(3), 144-148. https://doi.org/10.1111/eve.12569

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Feb 1, 2016
Publication Date Mar 1, 2017
Deposit Date Mar 2, 2016
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal EQUINE VETERINARY EDUCATION
Print ISSN 0957-7734
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 29
Issue 3
Pages 144-148
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/eve.12569
Public URL https://rvc-repository.worktribe.com/output/1393061

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