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Medical treatment of equine colic
Author(s) -
Mair Tim,
Edwards Barrie
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
in practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.211
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 2042-7689
pISSN - 0263-841X
DOI - 10.1136/inpract.20.10.578
Subject(s) - medicine , physical examination , abdominal pain , disease , medical treatment , intensive care medicine , lower abdominal pain , medical therapy , medical history , signs and symptoms , surgery
COLIC is not a specific disease or diagnosis; it is a clinical syndrome involving abdominal pain. A large number of different diseases, both intestinal and non‐intestinal, can cause abdominal pain, and a thorough and systematic physical examination is required in each case to diagnose the cause, or at least to differentiate the 'benign' colics from the life‐threatening and surgical causes. The majority of colic cases encountered in first opinion practice are associated with mild and non‐specific signs and will often, therefore, be amenable to medical therapy. In many cases, the response (or lack of response) to simple medical treatments will also be helpful diagnostically.