Equine cyathostomosis: case reports

Abstract

Twelve clinical cases of cyathostomosis in horses treated at the Equine Clinic University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Brno, the Czech Republic, between the years 1999 and 2008 are described in this report. Six cases (50%) were hospitalized in the period from 2007 to 2008. Eleven of them were hospitalized in the period from December to March. Only one case was admitted in June, but the clinical signs had appeared for the first time in January. All horses described in these cases were younger than six years of age. Diarrhoea as a predominant clinical sign was present in four horses and colic in four horses. One horse showed both colic and diarrhoea whilst three horses had weight loss and subcutaneous oedema. Metabolic acidosis was found in three horses, eight patients had leucocytosis. Hypoproteinemia was found in four horses, hypoalbuminemia in seven horses, hypokalemia in three horses and increased alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity in five horses. Seven horses recovered, one horse died and four horses were euthanized.