Shehla Gul Bokhari
University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, Pakistan
Title: Sonographic findings in Horses affected with tendinopathies and associated soft tissue injuries of various joints from Lahore, Pakistan
Biography
Biography: Shehla Gul Bokhari
Abstract
In this study, tendinopathies and other soft tissue injuries were assessed in horses, in Lahore, Pakistan. Forty-eight horses were randomly selected and divided into three equal groups (n=16) i.e. Group A (Race), Group B (Polo) and Group C (Draft-purpose); each group was further subdivided into two equal sub-groups i.e. sound (n=8) and unsound (n=8). Soft tissue structures from various joints including elbow, carpus, fetlock, stifle, hock, and flexor tendons were scanned based on various sonographic parameters, including echogenicity, fiber alignment, severity of injury, soundness via ultrasound and the degree of prognosis, respectively. The results showed that echogenicity of lesions was highly significant (P≤0.014) in Groups A and B. Fiber alignment was also highly significant for Group B (Polo), followed by Group A (Race Horses), and significant for Group C (Draft-purpose). Severity of injury was highly significant (P≤0.003) for both Groups A and C. Soundness via ultrasound was highly significant for all three groups (P≤0.002 for Race and Polo, and (P≤0.012 for Draft Purpose); whereas status of prognosis was highly significant for Group A (P≤0.001), followed by Groups B and C (P≤0.006). Conclusively, injuries were more pronounced in Race horses, followed by Polo horses and subsequently Draft purpose horses.
A race horse with bilateral fetlock joint swelling in fore legs. The horse was suffering from chronic pain and marked lameness, with a decreased range of motion of both fetlock joints. The sonogram reveals an abnormal, coarse hyperechoic CDE with black areas marking fiber disruption and filling in by granulation tissue and debris. A race horse at Sardar Noor Hussain Farm (Raiwind), suffering from an acute non-painful swelling on the craniodorsal aspect of the right stifle joint. The sonogram reveals the presence of an organized hematoma with a large, soft cavity filled with an echogenic fluid separated into geometric cavities by thin, echogenic trabeculae.