Echocardiographic Assessment of Left Ventricular Systolic Function in Colic Horses

The use of echocardiography to study hemodynamic disturbances in colic horses has not been reported. The aim of this study was to noninvasively assess the effect of colic-related endotoxin shock on equine cardiac function. Fifty horses were admitted to the clinic on emergency for colic. A shock score from 1 to 4 was established for each horse on the basis of clinical evaluation, noninvasive systolic blood pressure, and blood tests. Left ventricular echocardiographic and Doppler parameters were compared between the four groups according to the shock score (1 = no or discrete signs of shock, n = 11; 2 = mild shock, n = 17; 3 = moderate shock, n = 12; 4 = severe shock, n = 10), using a multivariate analysis. Horses with a shock score of 1 were considered as controls. Significance was set at P < .05. The stroke volume, stroke index, ejection time, ejection time index corrected for heart rate, aortic velocity time integral, aortic flow acceleration time, and aortic flow deceleration time were significantly lower, whereas acceleration rate of aortic flow ejection and heart rate were significantly higher in shocked horses, as compared with the horses in the control group. Cardiac output was not significantly different between groups. Although these results are difficult to interpret because of the shock-induced changes in loading conditions of the heart, they suggest that alterations in some indicators of systolic function can be quantified by Doppler echocardiography in horses with colic-induced endotoxemic shock. Ultrasonographic monitoring of cardiovascular function could therefore be of interest in equine intensive care.