Bilateral bronchoalveolar lavage cytology profiles in a warmblood horse population during a 1-year period

Nanna Rasmussen, Pernille Karlsen, Nina D. Otten, Julie Fjeldborg, Sanni Hansen*

*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

Background: Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cytology results from 1 lung might not be representative of both lungs. Objectives: To determine whether the lung site sampled would influence the horse's BAL cytology profile, and if a pooled BAL sample would be superior with regard to BAL cytology diagnosis in a cohort of healthy and subclinical asthmatic warmblood horses. Animals: Fifty-nine horses in 2021 and 70 horses in 2022, the follow-up included 53 of the same in each year. Methods: A cross-sectional study with follow-up included BAL cytology samples from individual lungs and from pooled BAL samples. The BAL samples were enumerated and differential cell count were applied to categorize the horses as control or with airway inflammation (AI). Results: Bronchoalveolar lavage mast cell count was higher in left lung compared to right lung (2021; median 1.6 [range, 0.6-3.3] vs 1.2 [0.7-1.5] P =.009, 2022; median 3.1 [2.1-4.2] vs 2.4 [1.7-3.4], P <.001) and compared to pooled samples (2022; median 2.6 [1.7-3.7], P <.001). Between year 2021 and 2022, 17 of the horses had changes in BAL cytology from control to AI or vice versa. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Pooled BAL sample was the least reliable for detecting AI, and was not representative of the overall lung condition.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Veterinary Internal Medicine
Volume38
Issue number4
Pages (from-to)2391-2398
ISSN0891-6640
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Authors. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

Keywords

  • endoscopic examination
  • equine
  • lung site
  • mild-moderate equine asthma
  • severe equine asthma

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