title: Assessment of systemic inflammation by time-trends of blood granulocyte count and plasma myeloperoxidase and elastase concentrations following colic surgery in horses.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine changes in blood granulocyte counts and in plasma myeloperoxidase (MPO) and elastase (ELT) concentrations in surgical colic cases, and to determine the relationship between these changes and the surgical procedure performed, occurrence of postoperative ileus, and final outcome.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective clinical study conducted over a 12-month period.
  
  
  METHODS
  University teaching hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-three horses undergoing emergency laparotomy and surviving at least 12 hours postoperatively.
  
  
  METHODS
  Blood samples were taken before surgery, during surgery, at the recovery from anesthesia, and then serially until the 150th hour after the first blood sampling. Granulocyte counts were performed by an automated cell hematology analyzer. Specific ELISAs were performed for the MPO and ELT measurements. Mixed models were used to compare the time-trends of the 3 parameters.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Taking all horses together, the time-trends of MPO and ELT were not significantly different from each other, but they were significantly different from the granulocyte time-trend. The type of surgical procedure did not influence the time-trends of the 3 parameters. Significant changes in the granulocyte time-trends were associated with postoperative ileus and outcome. Significant changes in the MPO time-trends were associated with outcome. The ELT time-trends were not influenced by ileus or outcome.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Granulocyte counts and MPO change over time and are related to the severity of the inflammatory reaction in surgical colic cases. These time-trends may allow evaluation of treatment efficacy in an effort to modulate excessive granulocyte activation and degranulation.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Companion Animals and Horses, University of Liège, Liège, 4000, Belgium.|the Center for Oxygen Research and Development, University of Liège, Liège, 4000, Belgium.
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Salciccia
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Companion Animals and Horses, University of Liège, Liège, 4000, Belgium.|the Center for Oxygen Research and Development, University of Liège, Liège, 4000, Belgium.
authors.forename: Sigrid
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Grulke
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Companion Animals and Horses, University of Liège, Liège, 4000, Belgium.|the Center for Oxygen Research and Development, University of Liège, Liège, 4000, Belgium.
authors.forename: Geoffroy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: de la Rebière de Pouyade
authors.affiliation: the Center for Oxygen Research and Development, University of Liège, Liège, 4000, Belgium.
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Franck
authors.affiliation: the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Quantitative Genetics, University of Liège, Liège, 4000, Belgium.
authors.forename: Johann
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Detilleux
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Companion Animals and Horses, University of Liège, Liège, 4000, Belgium.|the Center for Oxygen Research and Development, University of Liège, Liège, 4000, Belgium.
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Serteyn
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Companion Animals and Horses, University of Liège, Liège, 4000, Belgium.|the Center for Oxygen Research and Development, University of Liège, Liège, 4000, Belgium.
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sandersen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003085:Colic / Q000601:surgery / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D006098:Granulocytes; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000601:surgery*; D006736:Horses; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood / Q000662:veterinary*; D007813:Laparotomy / Q000662:veterinary; D019272:Leukocyte Elastase / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D009195:Peroxidase / Q000097:blood*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000097:blood / Q000662:veterinary; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D009195:Peroxidase; D019272:Leukocyte Elastase
keywords: blood; equine critical care; gastrointestinal colic; inflammation; statistical modeling; trends