How to perform a transtracheal aspirate in horses for diagnosis of lower respiratory tract disease.

Objective: To describe indications for and demonstrate the technique to perform a transtracheal aspirate in horses. Transtracheal aspirate is indicated to collect samples for cytology and bacteriologic culture in cases of suspected pneumonia or other lower respiratory tract disease.

Animals: 1 healthy university-owned horse was used for demonstration purposes.

Decreased Circulating Red Cell Mass Induced by Intravenous Acepromazine Administration Alters Viscoelastic and Traditional Plasma Coagulation Testing Results in Healthy Horses.

Coagulopathy is common in equine critical illness, with its early recognition being crucial for patient management and prognosis. In vitro viscoelastic (VE) hypercoagulability with decreased RCM/PCV has been demonstrated in dogs but not horses. Our objective was to evaluate the effects of acepromazine-induced (0.

Stability of Gastric Fluid and Fecal Microbial Populations in Healthy Horses under Pasture and Stable Conditions.

Equine gastrointestinal microbial communities vary across the gastrointestinal tract and in response to diet or disease. Understanding the composition and stability of gastric fluid microbiota in healthy horses is a prerequisite to understanding changes associated with the development of disease. The objective of this study was to describe microbial communities in the gastric fluid and feces of healthy horses longitudinally.

Comparison of Citrated Whole Blood to Native Whole Blood for Coagulation Testing Using the Viscoelastic Coagulation Monitor (VCM Vet™) in Horses.

Viscoelastic monitoring of horse coagulation is increasing due to its advantages over traditional coagulation testing. The use of a point-of-care viscoelastic coagulation monitor (VCM Vet™) has been validated for use in horses using native whole blood (NWB) but has not been assessed using citrated whole blood (CWB), a technique that might have advantages in practicality and precision. Blood was collected from 70 horses, tested in duplicate immediately using NWB (T0), and stored at room temperature as CWB for testing in duplicate at 1 (T1) and 4 (T4) hours after venipuncture for comparison to NWB.