title: Effect of intestinal resection on two juvenile horses with granulomatous enteritis.
abstract: Two horses were presented with lethargy, weight loss, anorexia, and swelling of the limbs and ventral body wall. One horse, a 12-month-old American Paso Fino colt, also had acute abdominal pain. The other horse, a seven-month-old Tennessee Walking Horse (TWH) filly passed diarrheic stools during the initial examination. Each horse had low serum protein, neutropenia, and a normal packed cell volume (3.2 g/dl, 1300 cells/ul, and 38%, respectively, for the colt, and 2.4 g/dl, 696 cells/ul, and 44%, respectively for the filly). After intravenously administering plasma, the colt's PCV dropped to 23%, and the filly's dropped to 30%. During exploratory surgery, 3.5 and 2.0 meters of thickened terminal small intestine were removed from the colt and filly respectively, and a jejunocecostomy performed. The results of histologic examination of resected intestine were consistent with a diagnosis of equine granulomatous enteritis (EGE). Both horses showed clinical improvement within two days after surgery. The colt developed a neutrophilia (20,500 cells/ul) within 24 hours of surgery. Serum protein concentrations remained stable and gradually elevated to normal or near normal values of 7.0 g/dl (colt) and 5.8 g/dl (filly) by two weeks. The colt was killed four months after surgery because of signs of abdominal pain. Postmortem examination revealed a small intestinal volvulus associated with an adhesion. The TWH filly remains clinically normal 13 months after surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Large Animal Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Alabama 36849-5522.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schumacher
authors.forename: H D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Moll
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Spano
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Barone
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Powers
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002431:Cecostomy / Q000662:veterinary; D003106:Colon / Q000473:pathology; D004751:Enteritis / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D006099:Granuloma / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery / Q000662:veterinary*; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006736:Horses; D007582:Jejunostomy / Q000662:veterinary; D007583:Jejunum / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male