Recent studies in the field of Foal Intensive Care
In humans, a disorder of fatty acid metabolism is often associated with a defect in the SLC22A5 gene. Detection of this defect can provide insight into a person’s predisposition to various diseases. In human medicine, genetic testing of newborns (e.g., for MCAD deficiency) is therefore routine, and the acylcarnitine profiles of affected individuals are well known. A feared disorder of fatty acid metabolism in horses is atypical pasture myopathy, which occurs after ingestion of sycamore maple (hypoglycin A). Investigating underlying genetic factors in horses could advance precision medicine (in terms of predictive prevention and earlier detection of disease risks). Elucidating the pathophysiology and clinical presentation in newborns is therefore crucial for early detection, timely intervention, and improved prognosis in this particularly vulnerable patient group. The aim of this study is a comparative genomic and biochemical analysis of genetically related individuals affected by atypical pasture myopathy, as well as unrelated control animals of the same breed.
Abnormalities of the heart valves in foals are usually not detected until clinical symptoms such as shortness of breath, an elevated resting heart rate, or heart murmurs appear, prompting a cardiac ultrasound examination. Based on examinations of foals that did not exhibit any of these symptoms, we know that changes in the heart valves can also occur in these foals. POCUS (point-of-care cardiac ultrasound) should therefore be performed on all foals affected by sepsis to detect heart valve abnormalities, which are otherwise often identified only as incidental findings. Subsequently, affected foals should be monitored to track how these abnormalities develop and whether they impact their further development and performance.
The pain assessment scores used for adult horses cannot be applied to foals, as neonates have much more subtle facial expressions and do not display the typical signs of pain. For this reason, new scores specifically designed for newborn foals need to be validated so that pain and discomfort can be reliably detected in foals as well.
Publications in the field of Foal Intensive Care
- Validation of a Point-of-care quantitative equine IgG turbidometric Immunoassay and comparison of IgG concentrations measured with radial immunodiffusion and a point-of-care ELISA.
Ujvari S, Schwarzwald CC, Fouché N, Howard J, Schoster A.
J Vet Intern Med 31:1170-1177
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.14770 - Comparison of the fecal bacterial microbiota of healthy and diarrheic foals at two and four weeks of life.
Schoster A, Staempfli HR, Guardabassi L, Jalali, M, Weese JS.
BMC Vet Research 13:144
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-017-1064-x - Longitudinal Effect of a Multistrain Probiotic on the Composition of the Microbiome of Neonatal Foals Assessed via Metagenomic Sequencing.
Schoster A, Guardabassi L, Abrahams M, Staempfli HR, Jalali M, Weese JS.
Equine Vet J 48:689-696.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.12524 - Effect of a Multistrain Probiotic on Incidence of Neonatal Diarrhea and Fecal Pathogen Shedding.
Schoster A, Staempfli HR, Abrahams M, Weese JS, Guardabassi L.
J Vet Intern Med 29:925-931.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.12584 - Preliminary Investigation of the Area Under the L-Lactate-Time Concentration Curve (LACAREA) in Critically Ill Equine Neonates.
Wilkins PA, Sheahan BJ, Vander Werf KA, Castagnetti C, Hardy J, Schoster A, Boston RC.
J Vet Intern Med 29:659-662.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.12559