Twenty-four hour continuous transvenous temporary right ventricular pacing in healthy horses.

Background: The ability to perform transvenous temporary cardiac pacing (TV-TP) is critical to stabilize horses with symptomatic bradyarrhythmias. Reports of successful TV-TP in horses are limited, and only briefly describe short-term pacing.

Objective: To describe temporary, medium-term (24 h) transvenous right ventricular pacing in awake horses using a bipolar torque-directed pacing catheter.

Evaluation of a Self-Driven Large Animal Point of Care Ultrasound Learning Program for Veterinary Students.

Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) has the potential to improve health care outcomes and is increasingly used in veterinary primary care and specialty practice. The aim of this study was to evaluate a self-driven POCUS learning program during clinical rotations in a large animal teaching hospital. A randomized controlled trial of 94 students evaluated the hypotheses that access to a self-driven POCUS program would improve scores on a written test and the quality of subjective, objective, assessment and plan (SOAP) documents.

Closure of an Aortocardiac Fistula in a Horse.

• An ACF developed in a hospitalized horse following orthopedic surgery. • Spontaneous closure of the ACF occurred 6 weeks after initial diagnosis. • Echocardiography is the primary imaging modality to confirm the presence of ACF in equids.

Phlegmonous gastritis in 2 yearling horses.

Phlegmonous gastritis was diagnosed in 2 yearling fillies that were presented with a 1-wk history of fever, lethargy, and hypoproteinemia, associated with a previous diagnosis of equine proliferative enteropathy based on clinical signs and PCR assay detection of in fecal samples. Abdominal ultrasound revealed enlargement of the stomach and expansion of its submucosal layer with hypoechoic fluid, as well as thickened hypomotile small intestinal segments. Given the poor prognosis and poor response to treatment, both horses were euthanized, one on the day of presentation and the other after 3 wk of intensive medical management including a combination of antimicrobials, analgesics, and intravenous colloids.

Atrial fibrillatory rate as predictor of recurrence of atrial fibrillation in horses treated medically or with electrical cardioversion.

Background: The recurrence rate of atrial fibrillation (AF) in horses after cardioversion to sinus rhythm (SR) is relatively high. Atrial fibrillatory rate (AFR) derived from surface ECG is considered a biomarker for electrical remodelling and could potentially be used for the prediction of successful AF cardioversion and AF recurrence.

Objectives: Evaluate if AFR was associated with successful treatment and could predict AF recurrence in horses.

Pocket-Sized Ultrasound Versus Traditional Ultrasound Images in Equine Imaging: A Pictorial Essay.

This pictorial essay aims to display the image quality of pocket-sized ultrasound devices and hospital-based equipment to provide clinicians visual information about the potential uses of point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) in equine practice. Twenty-two paired images were obtained using traditional ultrasound equipment and pocket-sized ultrasound devices from patients evaluated at veterinary teaching hospitals. Images of many common ultrasound windows and miscellaneous sonographic abnormalities were obtained using pocket-sized ultrasound equipment.

Evaluation of Autologous Protein Solution Injection for Treatment of Superficial Digital Flexor Tendonitis in an Equine Model.

Autologous protein solution (APS) has been used anecdotally for intralesional treatment of tendon and ligament injuries, however, its use in these injuries has never been studied . Our objective was to evaluate the effect of APS on tendon healing in an equine superficial digital flexor (SDF) tendonitis model. We hypothesized intralesional injection of APS would result in superior structural and biomechanical healing.

Utility and accuracy of a smartphone-based electrocardiogram device as compared to a standard base-apex electrocardiogram in the horse.

Objective: Evaluate accuracy and utility of a smartphone-based ECG device compared to a standard base-apex lead ECG in horses.

Methods: ECGs were acquired prospectively from 28 client-owned horses at 2 equine referral hospitals. Twenty-five pairs of 30-s ECG recordings were acquired simultaneously from 23 horses with a smartphone ECG device (a bi-polar single lead recorder coupled to a smartphone with an ECG application) and with a standard base-apex lead ECG; 2 horses provided two pairs of simultaneously acquired ECGs.

Assessment of the Cardiovascular System in Horses During Prepurchase and Insurance Examinations.

Arrhythmias detected on prepurchase examination should be confirmed with an ECG. Exercising ECG determines if the arrhythmia is overdriven during exercise or is a safety concern. An echocardiogram is needed in all horses with a grade 3/6 or louder mid to late systolic, holosystolic, or pansystolic murmur or any holodiastolic decrescendo murmur to identify the cardiac abnormality and its hemodynamic impact.

Evaluation of coagulation and fibrinolysis in horses with atrial fibrillation.

Objective: To evaluate horses with atrial fibrillation for hypercoagulability; plasma D-dimer concentrations, as a marker of a procoagulant state; and a relationship between coagulation profile results and duration of atrial fibrillation or presence of structural heart disease.

Design: Case-control study.

Animals: Plasma samples from 42 horses (25 with atrial fibrillation and 17 without cardiovascular or systemic disease [control group]).

Cardiac troponin I concentrations in horses with colic.

Objective: To determine prevalence of myocardial injury in horses with colic on the basis of high concentrations of cardiac troponin I (cTnI), frequency of cardiac arrhythmias within the first 24 to 48 hours after hospital admission or surgery because of colic, and associations between high cTnI concentrations and cardiac arrhythmias, clinical course, and outcome (survival to discharge from hospital vs nonsurvival [death or euthanasia]).

Design: Prospective observational study.

Animals: 111 horses with colic.

Hypertensive cardiomyopathy in horses: 5 cases (1995-2011).

Objective: To describe the prognosis and clinical, echocardiographic, and pathological features of hypertensive cardiomyopathy in horses.

Design: Retrospective case series.

Animals: 5 horses with cardiac hypertrophy and systemic hypertension.

Effect of general anesthesia on plasma cardiac troponin I concentrations in healthy horses.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of general anesthesia on plasma cTnI concentrations in horses.

Animals, Materials And Methods: Thirty-two horses undergoing general anesthesia and either elective surgery or MRI without surgery were prospectively studied. Twenty-nine horses (22 surgical, 7 imaging) completed the study.

Serial gastrointestinal ultrasonography following exploratory celiotomy in normal adult ponies.

The objective was to characterize ultrasonographic changes in bowel wall thickness, contractility, degree of distension, luminal contents, and peritoneal fluid associated with exploratory celiotomy in normal ponies. Gastrointestinal ultrasonographic examination was performed in 14 ponies on days 1, 3, 5, and 7 after an exploratory celiotomy. Wall thickness, contractility, degree of distension, and luminal contents were recorded for the duodenum and jejunum.

Chronic oral therapy with enalapril in normal ponies.

Enalapril is an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor that is frequently used in human, feline and canine patients with cardiac disease. Its use has been associated with impotence in human patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate if enalapril (0.

Gastrointestinal ultrasonography in normal adult ponies.

The objective of this study was to determine the characteristics based on ultrasonographic examination of the stomach, duodenum, jejunum, cecum, and peritoneal fluid in normal adult ponies. Abdominal ultrasonographic examination was performed in nine unsedated standing ponies. The duodenum was examined at three sites and the jejunum in 12 regions.

Ultrasonographic appearance of the lower urinary tract in fifteen normal horses.

The purpose of this study was to describe the normal ultrasonographic appearance of the caudal portion of the equine ureters, pelvic urethra, and urinary bladder and to assess ureteral contractility. Fifteen horses with no evidence of urinary tract disease (five females, five intact males and five geldings) were studied. The lower urinary tract was evaluated ultrasonographically using a transrectal approach.

Septicemia and cardiovascular infections in horses.

This article first reviews cardiovascular infections, including endocarditis, myocarditis, vasculitis, and pericarditis. It then addresses what is known at this stage about the effects of sepsis on the cardiovascular system. Some information is provided from current human literature to familiarize the reader with the diagnostics and therapeutics that may eventually be used in equine practice as well.

Idiopathic pericarditis and cardiac tamponade in two cows.

Idiopathic pericarditis is an uncommon diagnosis in cattle with cardiac tamponade. Two cows were examined for clinical signs of right-sided congestive heart failure, including tachycardia, venous distention, and peripheral edema. Muffled heart sounds were detected in one of the cows.