Retrospective evaluation of treatment of horses with colic over a period of 15 years

Colic is a common reason for both veterinary consultation and death in horses and to help decision making in such cases recent data on the outcome of treatment and identification of prognostic indicators is important. Patient records of all horses with colic admitted to the internal medicine section of a veterinary teaching hospital (VTH) between November 2012 and October 2013 were reviewed. Age, heart rate (HR), blood lactate concentration (BLa), packed cell volume (PCV), white blood cell (WBC) count and blood pH at admission, treatment and outcome were recorded. Results were compared to those obtained at the same institution during 2006-2007 and 1999-2000. During the present study period 867 horses were admitted and 311 (36%) of these were admitted for colic, 207/311 (67%) of these horses were treated medically, 67/311 (22%) surgically and 37/311 (12%) were euthanized on admission. The short-term survival, defined as discharge from the hospital, for surgically treated colic cases was 60%, while the survival for medically treated cases was 86%. When all colic cases were analysed together HR (P 1.5 mmol/L), heart rate (>60bpm), PCV (>42%), acidosis (pH