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  • Author or Editor: Alan J. Guthrie x
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Abstract

Objective—To evaluate the efficacy of furosemide for prevention of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) in Thoroughbred racehorses under typical racing conditions.

Design—Randomized, placebo-controlled, blinded, crossover field trial.

Animals—167 Thoroughbred racehorses.

Procedures—Horses were allocated to race fields of 9 to 16 horses each and raced twice, 1 week apart, with each of the 2 races consisting of the same race field and distance. Each horse received furosemide (500 mg, IV) before one race and a placebo (saline solution) before the other, with the order of treatments randomly determined. Severity of EIPH was scored on a scale from 0 to 4 after each race by means of tracheobronchoscopy. Data were analyzed by means of various methods of multivariable logistic regression.

Results—Horses were substantially more likely to develop EIPH (severity score ≥ 1; odds ratio, 3.3 to 4.4) or moderate to severe EIPH (severity score ≥ 2; odds ratio, 6.9 to 11.0) following administration of saline solution than following administration of furosemide. In addition, 81 of the 120 (67.5%) horses that had EIPH after administration of saline solution had a reduction in EIPH severity score of at least 1 when treated with furosemide.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results indicated that prerace administration of furosemide decreased the incidence and severity of EIPH in Thoroughbreds racing under typical conditions in South Africa.

Full access
in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association

Abstract

Objective—To compare growth characteristics of strains of equine arteritis virus (EAV) of differing virulence to horses in rabbit kidney (RK)-13 cells and equine endothelial cells (EECs) cultured from the pulmonary artery of a foal.

Sample Population—13 strains of EAV, including 11 field isolates of differing virulence to horses; the highly virulent, horse-adapted Bucyrus strain; and the modified-live virus (MLV) vaccine derived from it.

Procedure—The growth characteristics of the 13 strains were compared in EECs and RK-13 cells. Viral nucleoprotein expression, cytopathogenicity, and plaque size were compared to determine whether growth characteristics of the 13 strains were predictive of their virulence to horses.

Results—Cytopathogenicity, viral nucleoprotein expression, and plaque size induced by all 13 viruses were similar in RK-13 cells, whereas virulent strains of EAV caused significantly larger plaques in EECs than did the avirulent strains of EAV. Paradoxically, the highly attenuated MLV vaccine and 1 field isolate of EAV caused plaques in EECs that were larger than those caused by any of the other viruses, and sequence analysis confirmed the field isolate of EAV to be indistinguishable from the MLV vaccine.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—With the notable exception of the MLV vaccine, growth of the various strains of EAV in EECs was predictive of their individual virulence to horses. Thus, EECs provide a relevant and useful model to further characterize determinants of virulence and attenuation amongst strains of EAV. (Am J Vet Res 2003;64:779–784)

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in American Journal of Veterinary Research