BackgroundOutcomes of colic treatment are of great interest to clinicians, horse owners and insurers. One commonly used criterion of success is the overall short-term survival rate. This is used as to compare treatments and to measure quality of veterinary care, but may be biased by demographic or social factors such as attitudes towards animal suffering and euthanasia. The aims of this study were to 1) describe and analyse characteristics in horses with signs of colic referred to the University Hospital for Large Animals (UHLA), University of Copenhagen, Denmark over a 10-year period and 2) to compare these rates with those published in other comparable studies.ResultsThe overall survival rate for colic horses over the 10-year study period was 68% (confidence intervals (CI): 66–71%; 1087/1588). In the medical group, 1093 horses, short-term survival was 87% (CI: 85–89%). Thirty one % of referred horses were given diagnoses requiring surgical intervention (CI: 29–33%). In this group 32% of the horses were euthanized before surgery (CI: 28–36%; 159/495). Of the surgical cases 27% (CI: 23-31%) were euthanized or died during surgery. Of the horses that recovered from surgery 25% died or were euthanized (CI: 19–32%; 48/189), while 75% survived to discharge (CI: 68–81%).ConclusionsThe short term survival rates of Danish horses with colic were similar or lower to those reported from other countries. Apart from variability of veterinary care, attitudes towards euthanasia vary among the countries, which may bias the outcomes. This study indicates that qualitative interview studies on owners’ attitudes towards animal suffering and euthanasia need to be conducted. Our opinion is that survival rates are not valid as sole indicators of quality of care in colic treatment due to selection bias. If the survival rates are to be compared between hospitals, techniques or surgeons, prospective studies including mutually agreed-on disease severity scores and a predefined set of reasons for euthanasia are needed.

A stent bandage would reduce the likelihood of incisional infection in horses undergoing exploratory coeliotomy for colic.

The recovery phase is a critical period during equine anaesthesia. In an attempt to reduce the risk of recovery, several recovery systems, including head and tail ropes, have been developed over time. However, the clinical safety and efficacy of these systems have not been compared to a nonassisted group in a larger study. The objective of this comparative, retrospective, nonrandomised single-centre study was to determine whether the risk of developing fatal and nonfatal complications after general anaesthesia is reduced in horses assisted with head and tail ropes during recovery compared with horses recovering unassisted. Included were all horses undergoing general anaesthesia at

SummaryReasons for performing study: There is a paucity of studies addressing sporting activity and horse owners' satisfaction after horses have undergone colic surgery. Objectives: To determine 1) survival rate after colic surgery, 2) prevalence of horses returning to, or starting, sporting activities and 3) assess the owners' satisfaction regarding colic surgery. Methods: Cases that underwent exploratory celiotomy for colic between January 2005 and August 2010 were reviewed. All horses that had one or more celiotomies and were discharged after colic surgery were included in a telephone questionnaire survey. Only horses that survived at least 6 months after colic surgery were included in the sporting activity analysis. Data extracted from the records included case details, intraoperative diagnosis and surgical treatment. Information from a telephone questionnaire included the horses' post surgical details (horse alive or subjected to euthanasia, post operative complications, pre-and post surgical use, return to sporting activity, sporting performance, behavioural changes, management changes and recommendation by owner for colic surgery). A logistic regression model was used for the statistical analysis of post hospitalisation performance and an ordinal regression model used for analysis of post colic complications and of owner's recommendation of surgery. A Kaplan-Meier survival curve was computed to show survival of horses discharged after colic surgery. Results: The survival rates (%) at 6, 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 months were 95.3, 86.6, 80.9, 76.9, 62.1 and 57.6, respectively. A large majority of horses (86.1%) resumed or started sporting activities after colic surgery. The proportion of horses that the owners believed to achieve the same or better performance after surgery was 83.5%. In 89.9% of the cases, owners stated that they would recommend colic surgery. Conclusions: Horses discharged after colic surgery had a high long-term survival rate. A high prevalence of horses resumed or started sporting activities with a high proportion of horses at their presurgical performance level. The large majority of owners of discharged horses were satisfied with colic surgery performed on their horses. evj_490 3..6

Few studies have investigated the physiological parameters of endurance horses in Scandinavia. Hence, this two race study has focused on the effects of endurance racing in terms of equine clinicopathological blood parameters, heart score, and fluid use. Race A involved 15 horses (120 km). Two pre- and one post-race blood samples were taken, body condition score was assessed in triplicate pre-race, and an ECG was used to determine heart score. Race B involved 16 horses (65–120 km). One pre- and two post-race blood samples were taken. For both races, horse data as well as fluid intake estimates and cooling water were noted. Race A showed that blood haematocrit, albumin, sodium, and triglycerides increased significantly with endurance racing, whilst chloride, glucose, iron, and potassium decreased significantly. In race B, blood creatinine, cholesterol, and inorganic phosphate continued to increase significantly during the first post-race sampling period compared to pre-race levels, whilst iron, which decreased significantly during the race, increased significantly over the two post-race sampling periods. It is concluded that whilst no correlation between heart score and speed was observed, a significant correlation exists between experience and changes in blood parameters with endurance racing and between fluid intake and average speed.