Clinical and diagnostic findings, treatment, and short‐ and long‐term survival in horses with peritonitis: 72 cases (2007‐2017)

• Published in: Veterinary surgery 2021-02, Vol.50 (2), p.323-335
• Main Authors: Arndt, Stefanie, Kilcoyne, Isabelle, Vaughan, Betsy, Dechant, Julie E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Castration; Cell culture; Chi-square test; Colic; Colic - diagnosis; Colic - etiology; Colic - therapy; Colic - veterinary; Diagnosis; Diagnostic systems; Etiology; Female; Health services; Hematology; Horse Diseases - diagnosis; Horse Diseases - etiology; Horse Diseases - therapy; Horses; Information processing; Information retrieval; Leukocytes (eosinophilic); Male; Medical records; Peritoneal fluid; Peritoneum; Peritonitis; Peritonitis - diagnosis; Peritonitis - etiology; Peritonitis - therapy; Peritonitis - veterinary; Prognosis; Retrospective Studies; Statistical tests; Surgery; Survival; Thickening; Trauma
• ISSN: 0161-3499; 1532-950X
• DOI: 10.1111/vsu.13564

Objective To identify etiology, clinical findings, diagnostic results, treatment, and short‐ and long‐term survival and to report factors associated with nonsurvival and survival in horses with peritonitis. Study design Retrospective study. Animals Horses (n = 72). Methods Medical records at William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital from 2007‐2017 were reviewed for horses diagnosed with peritonitis. The essential inclusion criterion was a peritoneal nucleated cell count of ≥25 000 cells/μL. Gastrointestinal rupture and cases in which peritonitis occurred after abdominal surgery or castration were excluded. Information retrieved from medical records included signalment, history, clinicopathological and peritoneal fluid variables, diagnostic imaging findings, inciting cause, treatment, and short‐ and long‐term survival. Data were analyzed by using Fisher's exact test, Wilcoxon rank sum test, and χ2 test (P