Detection of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage in colombian creole horses.

Abstract

Exercised-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) is an alteration characterized by bleeding through the pulmonary vasculature as a consequence of cardiovascular changes during exercise. There is not much knowledge about the possible causes of it, despite the great quantity of studies in different breeds, mainly sport horses, but it is proposed that respiratory diseases or alterations may be involved and they may cause an increase in the intra-capillary pressure, leading to hemorrhage. However, the information available about this disease in the Colombian Creole horse (CCC) is scarce, which makes it difficult to know if it is involved in the decreased performance in competition of this horses. The aim of this study was to determine by endoscopic examination and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), the presence of EIPH in 33 currently training CCC. All the animals were submitted to the same exercise routine and endoscopic examination was performed 90-120 minutes after exercise. The markers to consider an animal as positive were the presence of blood at the trachea and its confirmation by trachea- bronchial lavage and aspiration. From the total of examined animals7/33 (21, 2 %) were positive for EIPH.