Equine Health Update February 2017 Issue | Page 38

EQUINE | Abstracts

EQUINE | Abstracts

Abstract
BACKGROUND : Palmar osteochondral disease ( POD ) is common in the Thoroughbred racehorse yet difficult to diagnose by radiography alone .
OBJECTIVES : To improve the sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing POD from radiographs .
STUDY DESIGN : Prospective , longitudinal study .
METHODS : Radiographs in nine different projections were made of metacarpophalangeal joints ( MCPJ ) of 50 Thoroughbreds . Post-mortem , MCPJs were dissected and gross pathology was scored . Three experienced Thoroughbred clinicians read each radiograph and recorded their findings . Another clinician reviewed each radiograph alongside the related gross specimens in order to correlate radiological findings with joint pathology . This served as a ‘ gold standard ’. The performance of each clinician at detecting POD was compared with the ‘ gold standard ’. Radiological features associated with POD were identified and presented to the clinicians in a training manual , prior to them re-reading the radiographs . The ability of each clinician to diagnose POD was reassessed .
RESULTS : Palmar osteochondral disease was a common finding ( 88 / 100 joints ). All three clinicians demonstrated low sensitivity and low specificity at detecting POD ( mean 0.37 and 0.75 , respectively ). Conversely , the sensitivity and specificity for POD in the ‘ gold standard ’ was high ( 0.95 and 1.0 ). POD was associated with primary radiological features ( e . g . focal radiolucencies in the palmar condyles , disruption of the outline of subchondral bone and focal sclerosis of the palmar condyles ) and secondary features ( e . g . basilar and apical osteophytes on the proximal sesamoid bones , flattening of the palmar condyles and cavitation of the dorso-distal aspect of the third metacarpal bone ). Secondary radiographic features were often easier to detect . Following training the performance of clinicians at identifying POD was significantly improved .
MAIN LIMITATIONS : Only two clinicians completed the study ; low proportion of POD negative cases in the study .
CONCLUSIONS : Clinicians frequently overlook key radiological features related to POD . Alerting clinicians to relevant radiological features improved the sensitivity and specificity of diagnosis .
Factors associated with survival of horses following relaparotomy .
Findley JA , et al . Equine Vet J . 2016 .
Abstract
REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY : Relaparotomy may be required to investigate and manage complications that occur following surgical management of colic .
OBJECTIVES : To report factors associated with survival following relaparotomy .
STUDY DESIGN : Retrospective cohort study .
METHODS : Records of horses that had undergone exploratory laparotomy for treatment of colic over a 10-year period ( 2002-2012 ) and had undergone relaparotomy < 8 weeks following the initial surgery were reviewed . Descriptive data were generated and association with survival time was modelled using Cox proportional hazards models .
RESULTS : Relaparotomy was performed in 96 horses at < 8 weeks following initial surgery at a median of 4
38 • Equine Health Update •