After-hours equine emergency admissions at a university referral hospital (1998 - 2007) : causes and interventions
Journal of the South African Veterinary Association
| Field | Value | |
| Title | After-hours equine emergency admissions at a university referral hospital (1998 - 2007) : causes and interventions | |
| Creator | Viljoen, A. Saulez, M.N. Donnellan, C.M. Bester, L. Gummow, B. | |
| Description | Medical records of equine after-hours admissions from 1998 to 2007 are reviewed. Data extracted from the medical records included signalment, reason for admission, pre-admission treatment, clinical presentation, procedures performed, final diagnoses, complications occurring in hospital, length of stay and outcome. Eight hundred and twenty after-hours admissions were available of which 75 % were classified as emergencies. Most horses originated from Gauteng province (82 %), with Thoroughbred, Arabian, and Warmbloods representing 46 %, 10 % and 7 % of horses. Horses had a median age of 7 years and were predominantly male (60 %). Gastrointestinal (64 %) and musculoskeletal (19 %) disorders were the primary reasons for admission. Anti-inflammatories, sedation and antibiotics were given in 51 %, 20 % and 15 % of cases respectively prior to referral. On admission, 23 % of horses had surgical intervention. Intravenous catheterisation (64 %), rectal examination (61 %), nasogastric intubation (56 %), abdominocentesis (33 %) and ultrasonography (19 %) were the procedures performed most frequently. Surgical and medical colics constituted 28 % and 27 % respectively of the overall diagnoses, while piroplasmosis was diagnosed in 5 % of horses. Post-admission complications occurred in 2 % of horses. The median length of stay was 4 days (95 % CI: 1 to 21 days). Overall survival to discharge was 74 %. This study demonstrates that the majority of after-hours equine admissions to a university referral hospital required medical intervention and were mostly due to gastrointestinal disorders. Information obtained from this study can be used in emergency referral planning. | |
| Publisher | AOSIS | |
| Date | 2009-05-23 | |
| Identifier | 10.4102/jsava.v80i3.196 | |
| Source | Journal of the South African Veterinary Association; Vol 80, No 3 (2009); 169-173 2224-9435 1019-9128 | |
| Language | eng | |
| Relation |
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:
https://jsava.co.za/index.php/jsava/article/view/196/180
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