Pseudohyperkalemia in horses with rhabdomyolysis reported by an enzymatic chemistry analyzer.

Objective: To investigate pseudohyperkalemia occurring in horses experiencing rhabdomyolysis when serum chemistry profiles are run on an VetScan VS2 analyzer (Abaxis).

Animals: 18 horses with rhabdomyolysis (creatine kinase [CK] > 1,000 U/L).

Methods: In 3 horses with serum CK activities > 5,800 U/L and persistent serum potassium concentrations of > 8.

Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation increases levels in red blood cells and reduces the prevalence and severity of squamous gastric ulcers in exercised Thoroughbreds.

Objective: To assess the relationship between plasma and RBC fatty acid composition and incidence and severity of squamous gastric ulcers when altered by short-chain (SC) or long-chain (LC) polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) supplementation.

Animals: 13 fit Thoroughbred horses in training.

Procedures: Horses were evaluated by gastroscopy for squamous ulcer score, gastric pH, and blood fatty acid composition prior to supplementation (UNSUPP) and after 3 months of supplementation with a corn-flax oil blend of alpha-linolenic acid and linoleic acid (SC-PUFA) or a gamma-linolenic acid (GLA)-fish oil blend of GLA, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; LC-PUFA) in a crossover design.

Suspected systemic calcinosis and calciphylaxis in 5 horses.

Five horses were presented with signs of myopathy along with systemic malaise, hyperfibrinogenemia, hyperphosphatemia, and an elevated calcium phosphorus product (Ca*P). Postmortem findings were consistent with systemic calcinosis, a syndrome of calcium deposition in the tissue of organs including lungs, kidneys, muscle, and heart that has not been previously described in horses.

Multimodal treatment of recurrent sinonasal cryptococcal granulomas in a horse.

Case Description: A 7-year-old 509-kg (1,120-lb) Tennessee Walking Horse mare was evaluated because of bilateral mucosanguinous nasal discharge, intermittent right-sided epistaxis, and worsening dyspnea of 9 months' duration.

Clinical Findings: Multiple masses in the nasopharynx were detected via endoscopic and radiographic examinations. Cytologic and histologic examinations of biopsy specimens of 1 mass revealed round yeasts with thick nonstaining capsules and occasional narrow-based budding that resembled cryptococcal organisms.

Lung surfactant function and composition in neonatal foals and adult horses.

Background: Lung surfactant function and composition are varied and adapted to the specific respiratory physiology of all mammalian species.

Hypothesis: Lung surfactant function and composition are different in neonatal foals as compared to adult horses.

Animals: Six adult horses, 7 term foals (<24 hours old), and 4 premature foals were used.

Pharmacokinetics of subcutaneous selenium in adult llamas.

Selenium (Se) deficiency disease has been described in camelids and only clinical data is available for administration of parenteral Se supplements. This study investigated the pharmacokinetic effects of subcutaneous Se injection (0.1 mg/kg) in llamas fed a diet adequate in Se.

Serologic responses to eastern and western equine encephalomyelitis vaccination in previously vaccinated horses.

A prospective study was performed to determine the serologic response of previously vaccinated horses to revaccination against eastern and western equine encephalomyelitis (EEE and WEE). Horses responded variably to each antigen, and some horses had low or undetectable antibodies 6 months after vaccination. Some horses did not develop increasing titers to EEE or WEE despite recent vaccination.