Resident The Ohio State University School of Veterinary Medicine COLUMBUS, Ohio, United States
Abstract: Background – Acute colitis can rapidly become life-threatening often requiring aggressive medical intervention to reduce the risk of non-survival. Recognizing horses at a higher risk of non-survival early in hospitalization is critical for providing appropriate therapeutics and making informed clinical decisions. In humans with ulcerative colitis, the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) reflects disease severity and in foals, a low NLR is associated with non-survival. Hypothesis/Objectives – NLR at admission may have prognostic utility for identifying horses that are at increased risk for non-survival. The objectives of this study: (1) define the NLR at admission in horses diagnosed with colitis and compare them to healthy horses; (2) determine whether the NLR at admission differs between surviving and non-surviving horses with colitis. Animals – 400 hospitalized horses > 1-year-old of any breed and sex: 300 horses diagnosed with colitis and 100 healthy horses. Methods – Retrospective multicenter study. Medical records of horses presenting to four equine referral hospitals were reviewed. Horses were included if they had complete hemograms, final diagnosis of colitis, and outcome data. Data was analyzed by non-parametric and univariate analysis. Results – The median NLR was similar in healthy horses (median [95% confidence interval]), 2.2 [1.7-2.5]) compared to healthy horses (2.1 [1.7-2.4]). The NLR was lower in surviving horses (1.9 [1.6-2.4]) compared to non-surviving horses (2.6 [1.4-3.1]). The difference was not significant. Work is ongoing to define the NLR for varying etiologies of colitis. Conclusions– The NLR at admission in horses diagnosed with colitis is not associated with non-survival. .
