Page 672 - Equine Clinical Medicine, Surgery and Reproduction, 2nd Edition

Respir atory system: 3.2 Surgical conditions of the respir atory tr act 647

VetBooks.ir of the affected side has also been reported in a small Management
A prolonged course of antibiotics possibly associ-
number of horses.
Prognosis ated with NSAIDs is indicated. Corticosteroids can
be indicated if swelling is severe enough to result in
The prognosis is poor. 4-BADs are permanent con- respiratory obstruction at rest.
genital abnormalities and almost all horses are inef-
fective athletes. Some horses will respond to bilateral
ventriculocordectomy. 3.89

EPIGLOTTITIS

Definition/overview
Epiglottitis is another result of infection becom-
ing established within cartilage. As with arytenoid
chondritis the condition appears to be primarily
associated with racehorses and there is an anecdotal
association with all-weather surfaces.

Aetiology/pathophysiology
It is an inflammatory process within the elastic car-
tilage of the epiglottis. It appears that the infection is
less likely to become permanently established in the
epiglottic cartilage than in the arytenoid.

Clinical presentation
Respiratory noise and poor performance are the
usual presenting signs. Occasional cases are pre- Fig. 3.89 Swollen and inflamed epiglottis in a
sented with dysphagia. racehorse with epiglottitis.

Differential diagnosis 3.90
The principal differential diagnosis following endo-
scopic examination is pharyngeal foreign bodies,
which can be associated with significant epiglot-
tic swelling and epiglottic entrapment, which also
result in smoothing of the outline of the epiglottis,
and general pharyngitis.

Diagnosis
Endoscopic examination is diagnostic. The epiglot-
tis is swollen and the normal crenated outline is lost
(Fig. 3.89). The epiglottis is often reddened and is fre-
quently presented in a more vertical orientation than
normal, associated with the swelling. Occasionally
there may be an abscess on the dorsal surface of the
epiglottis, identified as a rounded swelling. Purulent
discharge can be noted from the cartilage occasionally Fig. 3.90 Purulent discharge from the apex of the
if there is ulceration of the mucosal surface (Fig. 3.90). epiglottis in a horse with chronic epiglottitis.