Measuring tissue oxygen saturation in the orad intestinal segment during equine colic surgery may aid in predicting the occurrence of postoperative ileus

Am J Vet Res. 2024 Apr 19:1-8. doi: 10.2460/ajvr.23.12.0286. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTOBJECTIVE: To assess the histological injury and intestinal microperfusion measured by laser Doppler flowmetry and spectrophotometry (LDFS) of the small intestine orad to a strangulation during colic surgery.ANIMALS: Horses with naturally occurring small intestinal strangulations undergoing colic surgery were included.METHODS: In this prospective clinical trial, intestinal tissue oxygen saturation (tSO2) and tissue blood flow (tBF) were measured by LDFS orad to the strangulation following release of the strangulation (n = 18). The number of horses with postoperative reflux (POR) and the cases that survived until discharge were compared between groups using Fisher's exact test (P < .05). Intestinal biopsies were taken in cases that underwent intestinal resection or intraoperative euthanasia (n = 28). Measurements were compared between injured and noninjured segments with a Mann-Whitney U or t test.RESULTS: The tSO2 and tBF of the orad intestine were lower than previously reported in healthy horses. Horses with low tSO2 of < 35% were significantly more likely to suffer from POR (6/6 cases) compared to cases with tSO2 > 69% (1/6). The number of horses that survived were not statistically different between these groups (2/6 and 6/6). All horses with mucosal injury developed POR (6/6), which was significantly more likely compared to horses without mucosal injury (3/13). No significa...
Source: American Journal of Veterinary Research - Category: Veterinary Research Authors: Source Type: research