Premium
Equine hepatic disease: the effect of patient‐ and case‐specific variables on risk and prognosis
Author(s) -
SMITH M. R. W.,
STEVENS K. B.,
DURHAM A. E.,
MARR C. M.
Publication year - 2003
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 - 10.2746/042516403775467207
Subject(s) - case fatality rate , medicine , breed , disease , referral , liver disease , hepatitis , mortality rate , demography , epidemiology , family medicine , biology , genetics , sociology
Summary Reasons for performing study : Liver disease is fairly common in horses and, although previous literature suggests that fatality rates are high, impressions gained from current clinical practice suggest that this is no longer the case. Objectives : A case‐control study was undertaken in 2 hospitals to investigate whetherage, gender or breed type predisposed horses to developing hepatic disease, with the additional aim of determining whether these factors and disease category had any effect on outcome. Methods : Eighty‐eight cases were identified by review of computerised archives at 2 hospitals. Three cases admitted immediately before and afterthe cases were used as controls. Multivariant models were developed to explore the relationship between age, breed type and gender and the development of liverdisease, and within the clinical cases, to identify whetherany of these factors orspecific forms of liver disease were associated with fatality rate. Results : Ponies were more likely to develop hepatic disease than light riding horses, but neither age nor gender were significant risk factors. Overall, the fatality rate was fairly low; horses with unclassified hepatopathies had the lowest fatality rate and those with cholangiohepatitis, pyrrolizidine alkaloid toxicity and chronic active hepatitis had significantly higher fatality rates in comparison. However, age, breed type and gender had no detectable effect on outcome. Conclusions and potential relevance : Such data could be of particular value to equine practitioners, as the cases were drawn from both primary and referral practice, and were all seen within the last 5 years.