The implant of meshes in horses carries risks such as increased tissue reaction, infection at the surgical site, the occurrence of eventrations or evisceration and the rejection of materials considered foreign to the organism. In this study, the inflammatory response of horses to a polyamide surgical mesh implanted over the oblique external abdominal muscle at the flank region of six healthy horses was evaluated. Blood count and plasma fibrinogen were measured before the start of the experiment and after 7, 15, 30 and 60 days. Ultrasound examinations were performed daily on the first three postoperative days and then on the 7th, 15th and 60th day. The implant region and the healing of the skin wound were observed daily regarding the increase in volume and temperature, the presence and type of secretion and local pain sensitivity. Six months after the surgical procedure, tissue was taken from the implant region for histopathological examination. No hematologic or fibrinogenic changes were observed at the time points examined. There were no signs of infection of the surgical wound, the animals showed no pain, no increased volume or temperature and no secretion at the site where the polyamide surgical mesh was implanted. The skin wounds healed by first intention. There were no ultrasound or histologic changes indicating tissue reaction. The polyamide mesh; therefore, showed no local inflammatory reactions or rejection of the implant, being considered biocompatible for the equine species, being able to be tested especially in hernia corrections.

The prevalence of gastric disorders in high-performance horses, especially gastric ulceration, ranges from 50 to 90%. These pathological conditions have negative impacts on athletic performance and health. This study was designed to evaluate changes in gastric pH during a 24 h period and to compare gastrin concentrations at different time points in horses undergoing general inhalation anesthesia and dorsal recumbency. Twenty-two mixed-breed mares weighing 400 ± 50 kg and aged 8 ± 2 years were used. Of these, eight were fasted for 8 h and submitted to 90 min of general inhalation anesthesia in dorsal recumbency. Gastric juice samples were collected prior to anesthesia (T0), and then at 15 min intervals during anesthesia (T15–T90). After recovery from anesthesia (45 ± 1 min), samples were collected every hour for 24 h (T1 to T24) for gastric juice pH measurement. During this period, mares had free access to Bermuda grass hay and water and were fed a commercial concentrate twice (T4 and T16). In a second group (control), four non-anesthetized mares were submitted to 8 h of fasting followed by nasogastric intubation. Gastric juice samples were then collected at T0, T15, T30, T45, T60, T75, and T90. During this period, mares did not receive food or water. After 45 min, mares had free access to Bermuda grass hay and water, and gastric juice samples were collected every hour for four hours (T1 to T4). In a third group comprising ten non-fasted, non-anesthetized mares with free access to Bermuda grass hay and water, gastric juice samples were collected 30 min after concentrate intake (T0). In anesthetized mares, blood gastrin levels were measured prior to anesthesia (8 h fasting; baseline), during recovery from anesthesia, and 4 months after the anesthetic procedure, 90 min after the morning meal. Mean values of gastric juice pH remained acidic during general anesthesia. Mean pH values were within the physiological range (4.52 ± 1.69) and did not differ significantly between time points (T15–T90; p > 0.05). After recovery from anesthesia, mean gastric pH values increased and remained in the alkaline range throughout the 24 h period of evaluation. Significant differences were observed between T0 (4.88 ± 2.38), T5 (7.08 ± 0.89), T8 (7.43 ± 0.22), T9 (7.28 ± 0.36), T11 (7.26 ± 0.71), T13 (6.74 ± 0.90), and T17 (6.94 ± 1.04) (p < 0.05). The mean gastric juice pH ranged from weakly acidic to neutral or weakly alkaline in all groups, regardless of food and water intake (i.e., in the fasted, non-fasted, and fed states). Mean gastric pH measured in the control group did not differ from values measured during the 24 h post-anesthesia period or in the non-fasted group. Gastrin concentrations increased significantly during the post-anesthetic period compared to baseline (20.15 ± 7.65 pg/mL and 15.15 ± 3.82 pg/mL respectively; p < 0.05). General inhalation anesthesia and dorsal recumbency did not affect gastric juice pH, which remained acidic and within the physiological range. Gastric juice pH was weakly alkaline after recovery from anesthesia and in the fasted and fed states. Serum gastrin levels increased in response to general inhalation anesthesia in dorsal recumbency and were not influenced by fasting. Preventive pharmacological measures are not required in horses submitted to general anesthesia and dorsal recumbency.

Background: Digestive diseases in horses have received increasing attention, as shown by numerous studies focused on correcting alterations in the equine gastrointestinal microbiota. However, traditional methods for collecting cecal contents for nutritional, microbiological, and metabolic studies require cecal fistulation using techniques that have limitations, either due to the risk of complications from accessing this compartment or the invasive nature of maintaining the cecum with cannulas. Aims/objectives: This study aimed to describe a minimally invasive technique that allows repeated access to the equine cecum for cecal content collection. Methods: The procedure involved fixation of the cecum to the subcutaneous tissue of the right flank in 17 horses, which were monitored for 2 years (n = 7) and 10 years (n = 10). Repeated access to the cecum was achieved through cecal catheterization for content collection during various experimental procedures. Results: The results demonstrated that the technique is associated with low rates of immediate post-typhlopexy complications (1/17; 5.88%) and no long-term complications (0/17; 0.0%) resulting from repeated cecal intubation and sample collection procedures, thereby allowing repeated access to the cecal compartment. Furthermore, this technique represents a minimally invasive approach for cecal content collection, causing minimal disturbance to the cecal environment, which differs from the ruminal or abomasal cannulas commonly used for repeated gastrointestinal sampling. Conclusion: In conclusion, the proposed approach constitutes a minimally invasive technique for the long-term, repeated collection of cecal contents, causing minimal disturbance to the cecal environment and providing a method for preparing horses for experimental procedures.

Background: Equine gastrointestinal colic cases represent one of the diseases with higher morbidity and mortality. Short and long term survivals are commonly correlated with the colic causes, being considered 50% the survival rate of horses referred to surgery because of small intestine strangulative causes. The jejuno-caecostomy technique is recommended in cases of ileum necrosis or ischemia that indicates ileum removal. The survival rate after this procedure is low, being even lower than others common terminal-terminal enteroanastomoses. This study reports a case of jejuno-caecostomy followed by tiflopexy and tiflostomy performed in a colic horse.Case: A 12-year-old mare, mangalarga breed, with a history of acute abdomen during 18 h was referred to the FZEA-USP equine hospital. According to the owner, the animal suffered previous episodes of colic that had been solved without treatment. On this occasion, the owner, without veterinary advice, had administered 10 mL of flunixin meglumine, but the animal did not show improvement. During the examination, the patient presented tachycardia, tachypnea, toxemic mucosa, a large amount of enterogastric reflux, and it was possible to observe distended small intestine during rectal palpation. The horse was referred to surgery; it was possible to identify necrosis of the ileum and 30 cm of the aboral segment of the jejunum, caused by strangulation due to a pedunculated lipoma localized in the medial band of the caecum. Latero-lateral jejuno-caecostomy was performed between the medial and dorsal bands of the caecum, using polyglactin 910, nº 2.0, potassium penicillin 30.000 IU / kg, every 6 h, gentamicin 6.6 mg / kg, every 24 h, flunixin meglumine 1.1 mg / kg, every 12 h and maintenance fluid therapy were performed post operatively. The animal had ileus and severe enterogastric reflux for five days postoperatively, showing severe signs of endotoxemia, and parenteral hydration seemed to be not enough. So it was decided to hydrate the animal through the caecum. It was performed a tiflostomy and the implantation of a Foley catheter, nº 24, followed by tiflopexy. During this procedure, it was possible to diagnostic, via intra-abdominal palpation, a significant type I cecal impaction. Immediately after the procedure, the animal presented no more enterogastric reflux and started to defecate pasty manure. Two days after the procedure, the animal died. During necropsy, the anastomoses region showed a great healing process, without folds or stenosis and the functional test of the region was performed, showing no leakage, ensuring the success of the anastomosis technique; the tiflopexy was adequate, and the other intestinal segments presented normal.Discussion: In this report it was possible to observe several postoperative complications such as enterogastric reflux, type I caecum impaction, ileus, and endotoxemia, which was determinant for the death of the animal. Probably the cecal impaction was responsible for the enterogastric reflux and ileus, contributing with the endotoxemia and hydro electrolytic imbalance. These facts evidenced the necessity of faster and more efficient actions in future cases with similar complications, such as the accomplishment of a tiflostomy more precociously avoiding the impaction of caecum and minimizing the electrolytic imbalances of the patients. It was concluded that the delay in the patient referral, followed by the advanced hydro electrolytic imbalance and endotoxemia were the main factors responsible for the treatment failure.

Anais do Simpósio Internacional do Cavalo Atleta (SIMCAV) (978-65-5941-211-2) - Avaliação Da Utilização Do Etil-2-Cianoacrilato Na Síntese De Pele Em Equinos

Intravenous regional limb perfusion (IRLP) is an efficient method to treat horses with synovial infections. However, information on the dose, volume, and intervals of administration is lacking. The aim of this study was to evaluate the intra-articular concentration of gentamicin administered by IRLP in horses over 24 h post-administration and evaluate the influence of the total perfused volume. Twenty horses were assigned to two treatment groups. Gentamicin 60 group (G60, n=10) and Gentamicin 250 group (G250, n=10) received IRLP of 6.6 mg/kg of gentamicin diluted in Ringer’s lactate for a total volume of 60 ml (G60) and 250 ml (G250), respectively. Synovial fluid harvests were performed in the metacarpophalangeal joint before (0) and 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24 hours after IRLP. Agar diffusion was the assay for measuring gentamicin concentrations. Four hours after IRLP, the intra-articular concentration of gentamicin was 47.58±49.21 μg/ml in G60 and 10.92±6.11 μg/ml in G250. During the 24 h of harvest, the intra-articular concentration of gentamicin remained above the minimum inhibitory concentration for horses (MIC; 2 μg/ml) in both experimental groups. In G60, the concentration of gentamicin in synovial fluid reached the maximal concentration and remained 8 to 10-fold higher than the MIC (Cmax: 16 to 20 μg/ml) during 12 h after IRLP. These findings support that IRLP with 6.6 mg/kg of gentamicin diluted to a volume of 60 ml promotes intra-articular concentrations higher than 250 ml, remaining above the MIC for 24 h and at the maximum concentration for 12 h.