Background: There are few publications on occurrence of nonthyroidal illness syndrome in foals and on the prognostic value of cortisol and thyroid hormone (TH) concentrations in newborn foals.
Objectives: To determine serum cortisol and TH concentrations (total and free thyroxine: T and T ; total and free triiodothyronine: T and T ) in foals born from mares with placentitis, to determine their association with survival, and their use as prognostic markers.
Animals: A cohort of 29 newborn foals comprising 5 Control, 14 Low-risk, and 10 Sick foals were evaluated over the first week of life.
Methods: In this prospective study foals born to mares with experimentally-induced placentitis were assigned to Low-risk or Sick groups while foals born to control mares were classified as Control based on clinical findings. Foals were also classified as Term (n = 13), Dysmature (n = 7), or Premature (n = 9), and survival rate was recorded. Serum cortisol and TH hormone concentrations were measured at 0, 12, 24, 48, and 168 hours of life.
Results: Sick non-surviving foals had lower (P < .05) T : cortisol ratio at 12 (3.68 ± 1.06 versus 18.58 ± 2.78), 24 (5.47 ± 2.34 versus 23.40 ± 3.82), and 48 (10.47 ± 6.29 versus 26.6 ± 2.90) hours of life when compared to Sick surviving foals and lower (P < .05) T : cortisol ratio at 12 (75.12 ± 21.71 versus 414.47 ± 58.47) and 24 hours (127.83 ± 55.21 versus 430.87 ± 80.31) after birth than Sick surviving foals.
Conclusion And Clinical Importance: Placental infections can impair fetal thyroid function. Low T : cortisol and T : cortisol ratios seem to be good prognostic markers in newborn foals.
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| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7255665 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jvim.15758 | DOI Listing |
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