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Comparison of Bronchoalveolar Lavage and Tracheal Aspirate Results in 64 Non‐Thoroughbred Horses Presenting with Respiratory Signs or Exercise Intolerance
Author(s) -
Koskinen H,
Raekallio M,
Rahkonen E,
Rajamäki M,
Mykkänen A
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
equine veterinary journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.82
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 2042-3306
pISSN - 0425-1644
DOI - 10.1111/evj.12267_69
Subject(s) - neutrophilia , medicine , bronchoalveolar lavage , horse , exercise intolerance , eosinophil , respiratory system , histopathology , mucus , monocytosis , gastroenterology , neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio , population , pathology , lung , lymphocyte , asthma , biology , heart failure , paleontology , ecology , bone marrow , environmental health
It has been debated which airway sampling method, bronchoalveolar lavage ( BAL ) or tracheal aspirate ( TA ), is superior in evaluating equine respiratory disease. Most studies suggest BAL is the best sampling method due to better correlation with lung histopathology. In this study we compared BAL and TA results of athletic non‐Thoroughbred horses with chronic respiratory signs or exercise intolerance during 2009–2013. Methods 64 horses, 2–25 years of age (16 Coldbloods, 30 Warmbloods, 11 Standardbreds, 7 ponies) with recurrent or chronic (duration >1 month) respiratory signs or exercise intolerance that were subject to both BAL and TA sampling at rest were included. Neutrophil counts >5% in BAL and >20% in TA were considered abnormal. Statistical analysis was performed with Spearman's correlation coefficient. Results Both BAL and TA were abnormal in 29 horses and normal in 26 horses. 7 horses had only abnormal TA and 2 horses only abnormal BAL . Correlation was found between the amount of mucus in the trachea and both BAL (P = 0.002) and TA (P<0.001) neutrophil percentage. Neutrophil (P<0.001), eosinophil (P<0.001), lymphocyte (P = 0.008) and macrophage (P = 0.004) percentages correlated between BAL and TA . Conclusions I n our university hospital population, mucus in the trachea was a good indicator of airway neutrophilia. Unlike previous studies, in only 14% of the horses the interpretation of BAL and TA result was different with TA being slightly more sensitive at detecting neutrophilia. However, a gold standard for detecting inflammation in the equine airways is still lacking and the type and severity of the disease may greatly influence the best choice of sampling method. Ethical Animal Research Retrospective analysis of case records. Sources of funding: none. Competing interests: none.