Survey of 79 referral colic cases

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Abstract
The clinical, surgical and/or necropsy diagnosis of 79 horses admitted to a referral clinic for evaluation of colic are reported. Horses (21) were presented with conditions amendable to medical treatment and all were subsequently discharged. Exploratory laparotomies were performed performed on 44 horses during the present study, in some cases as a diagnostic procedure preceding euthanasia. In general, in surgical cases the mortality rate was highest for problems involving the small intestine, followed by those affecting the large colon and then the small colon. Postoperative sequelae included peritonitis, infarction, visceral rupture and acute circulatory failure. Colitis, visceral rupture and thromboembolic infarction generally had a fatal result. The overall recovery rate (for 79 horses) was about 50%.