Considerations for timely decision-making regarding equine colic: Medical or surgical management?

Abstract

The syndrome of acute abdomen (SAA) is a clinical condition with a strong impact on equine health, due to its characteristic high morbimortality. Multiple experimental models have been developed to establish causal relationships between alterations in the abdomen and the severity of equine colic. Research constantly tries to create protocols for timely and accurate medical care in order to reduce mortality rate. These protocols seek to reduce inaccuracies in therapeutic plans, especially when the severity of the syndrome requires surgical intervention to horses. Among the parameters included in the classification protocols of SAA or colic there are biomarkers of injury, such as lactate, cortisol, D-dimer, among others, and characteristic clinical signs grouped in classification tables. Parameters mostly associated with the therapeutic decision are pain intensity and response to analgesic therapy, although this may be accompanied, in order of sensitivity, by abdominal auscultation and trans-rectal palpation, naturally reinforced by full clinical examination. The use of classification tables is an aid in medical care in order to find fast and successful therapeutic approaches.