Pine branch of Araucaria angustifolia in horse bronchi: A series of four cases

Abstract

SummaryHorses at pasture are susceptible to the aspiration of foreign bodies. In Curitiba, southern Brazil, four horses of different breeds and ages were examined with regards to a persistent cough that lasted for several months, fetid breath, and no fever. The animals were referred for bronchoscopic examination performed under sedation and tracheobronchial topical anaesthesia. Bronchoscopies in all four horses revealed a pine branch of the species Araucaria angustifolia, native to southern Brazil, in the lumen of a third to fifth generation bronchus. Complete removal of the branch was possible in one case using a polypectomy loop inserted through the biopsy channel of the bronchoscope. In two cases, partial removal was possible. In one case the branch was adhered to the swollen mucosa and could not be extracted; this animal is being kept at pasture with intermittent antibiotic treatment as necessary. In conclusion, foreign bodies consisting of pine branches in the tracheobronchial tree of horses may be more common than currently recognised, as Araucaria genus is present in other countries and should be suspected in horses with chronic coughing associated with fetid breath and a history of reoccurrence following symptomatic treatments.

Bronchopneumonia by Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus in a horse with inhalation of pine branch of Araucaria angustifolia

“…In our study, dyspnea, hemoptysis, and fever were observed, similarly to previous case descriptions of FBs inhalation in horses (BARUSSI et al, 2020;FERRUCCI et al, 2003;MAIR, 2006;URQUHART et al, 1981). However, these descriptions reported chronic cough, which was not observed in our case, possibly due to the rapid progression of clinical signs.…”

“…FBs in the respiratory tract may be diagnosed by endoscopy and the removal is commonly successful (BARUSSI et al, 2020). Findings of post-mortem examinations carried out in fatal cases of FB inhalation in horses include large amounts of free serohemorrhagic fluid in the thoracic cavity, fibrinous pneumonia, with multifocal adhesions between the parietal and visceral pleura (BODECEK et al, 2011).…”

“…pulmonary disease may occur and the most frequent clinical signs include chronic cough, purulent nasal discharge sometimes associated with blood, halitosis, intermittent fever and abnormal lung sounds which do not recede after antibiotic treatment (FERRUCCI et al, 2003;MAIR, 2006;URQUHART et al, 1981). Signs of severe pneumonia may also be present (BARUSSI et al, 2020).…”

“…This condition has been reported in the Alto Uruguai Catarinense region with a frequency of 0.89% of cattle diagnoses (BAVARESCO et al, 2017), and in the mountainous region of Santa Catarina state leading to approximately 1% of cattle deaths diagnosed by one laboratory (EVANGELISTA et al, 2014). Horses that have access to grazing areas with Araucaria angustifolia trees are susceptible to inhalation of pine branch (BARUSSI et al, 2020). However, horses are highly selective when feeding in the field compared to other herbivores (COLLERY, 1974).…”

“…However, these descriptions reported chronic cough, which was not observed in our case, possibly due to the rapid progression of clinical signs. The clinical progression of affected horses may last days (BARUSSI et al, 2020;BODECEK et al, 2011) to months (URQUHART et al, 1981). In our study, we believe that secondary complications (bacterial pneumonia) were directly linked to the rapid clinical progression, which also made the establishment of the clinical diagnosis challenging, since horses with Ciência Rural, v.52, n.5, 2022.…”