ENTEROLITHIASIS AS THE MAIN CAUSE OF COLIC WITH SURGERY IN
HORSES IN RIO GRANDE DO SUL STATE IN 2007 AND 2008
Daniela Markus 1 ; Valesca P. Santos 2; Jarbas Castro Jr.2; Carlos E.W. Nogueira 1
Introduction: The term colic is used to refer to all crises of abdominal pain. According
to their cause, they may present different degrees of severity and pain. Identified as a
complex syndrome, its causes have been the focus of research over the years. Objective:
This study is aimed to survey the main causes of acute abdomen in horses that underwent
surgery in Rio Grande do Sul State and correlating to the main cause with the most
affected breed. Methods: During the years 2007 and 2008, 63 horses were admitted for
colic surgery in a reference center in Porto Alegre city, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil.
The animals were of different ages and breeds, including Crioulo breed and Brasileiro de
Hipismo breed. Most horses were used for sport activities. Results and Discussion:
From the overall horses subjected to laparotomy, 25 (40%) presented enterolithiasis
throughout the intestine, 15 (24%) had colon torsion, 8 (13%) had displacement of large
colon, 4 (6%) had colon retroflexion, 4 (6%) had caecum impaction, 3 (5%) had
fecaloma and 1 (1%) nephrosplenic entrapment. Of those animals presenting
enterolithiasis, 18 (72%) were of the Crioulo breed and 7 (28%) were of the Brasileiro
de Hipismo breed. Enterolithiases are found in the large intestine, causing severe
obstruction. They are formed by compounds of magnesio-ammonio-phosphate around a
core, which can be formed by fur, metal, plastic or foreign bodies ingested by horses.
Many Crioulo horses are breeding extensively under unbalanced diet. Thus, the horses
can ingest various objects that favor the formation of enteroliths. It is believed that the
periodic monitoring, balanced nutrition and grazing in clean fields can reduce the
morbidity of this disease. However, more research is needed on this etiopathogenesis.
Conclusions: The enterolithiasis in Rio Grande do Sul State is the leading cause of colic
surgery and an evaluation of the etiology of this change is sought with relation to the
breed, age and environmental factors involved.
1
Departmento de Clínicas Veterinária / Universidade Federal de Pelotas / RS/ Brasil
Clínica Hípica/ Porto Alegre/ RS/ Brasil
Campus Universitário s/n°-Caixa Postal 354 CEP 96010-900. [email protected]
2