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A clinical audit of the prevalence of colic in the 48 hours after gastroscopy in 436 horses
Author(s) -
Spanton J. A.,
Smith L.,
Mair T. S.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
equine veterinary education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.304
H-Index - 31
eISSN - 2042-3292
pISSN - 0957-7734
DOI - 10.1111/eve.13144
Subject(s) - medicine , impaction , gold standard (test) , exploratory laparotomy , stomach , physical examination , surgery
Summary Gastroscopy is a routine technique performed in equine practice to evaluate the stomach and is the gold standard diagnostic test for equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS). There are few publications on the safety of the technique and any associated complications, in particular colic. The objective of the study was to review all gastroscopic examinations performed at two equine clinics over a 5‐year period, and to describe any colic episodes in the 48 h post gastroscopy. In this clinical audit, hospital databases were searched for animals that had a gastroscopic examination in the 5‐year study period. Signalment, sedative drugs, stomach insufflation/deflation, gastroscopic findings, occurrence of colic in the 48 h post examination and any medication administered during that time were recorded. A total of 436 horses underwent 573 gastroscopic examinations during the study period. Post‐gastroscopy colic was recorded in 17/573 examinations (2.9%); 16 were mild, but one (0.2%) required exploratory laparotomy. Cases of gastric impaction were more commonly associated with colic post gastroscopy. When examinations of horses with gastric impaction were excluded, the prevalence of colic post gastroscopy was 5/561 (0.9%). A limitation of the study was that variability in technique was likely, due to multiple different clinicians performing gastroscopic examinations. A study with a larger sample size is required to confirm the findings of this audit. Gastroscopy is a relatively safe procedure but there is a small risk of colic afterwards.