Cytological and Bacteriological Observation of Tracheal Aspirates and Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid Obtained from Thoroughbred Racehorses with Pneumonia Associated with Transport

Results of cytological and microbiological examination using tracheal aspiration in race horses with lower respiratory tract disease

“…Takizawa et al (2005) suggested that the diagnostic value of TA obtained using endoscopes from young horses immediately after transportation is high for cytological examinations but extremely low with respect to bacteriological examination. According to these previous studies, BALF may provide more precise information than TA when diagnosing pneumonia in horses (Ode et al 2007). However, some authors favoured TA because it is easier and cheaper to obtain, they believe that the sample contains secretions and cells originating from all areas of the lung (McGorum et al 1994) and they can collect it free of outside contamination for bacteriological examination (Christley et al 1999;Darien et al 1990).…”