Daniel Augusto Barroso Lessa

Atividade da fosfatase alcalina no lavado broncoalveolar de equinos de policiamento montado no Estado do Rio de Janeiro

The use of determining the enzymatic activities in the posterior respiratory tract as a diagnostic tool has already been demonstrated in several species. In this context, this paper aims to determine the activity of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) of horses from the Military Police of the State of Rio de Janeiro, comparing healthy animals with asymptomatic carriers of an inflammatory airway disease (IAD). Twenty-eight adult male animals with no history of respiratory diseases in the last two months prior to the study were studied. Physical exam and blood laboratory test results (ALP, hematocrit, leukogram, total protein and plasma fibrinogen) were within physiological parameters. The equines were separated into two groups according to the results of the bronchoalveolar cytology. The determination of ALP was done by spectrophotometry with aliquots of the supernatant of the BAL preserved in liquid nitrogen. To estimate pulmonary epithelial lining fluid and ALP activity, correction of the dilution caused by the lavage was done. The horses with a cell type differential count compatible with IAD presented a lower ALP activity in BAL when compared to healthy animals, therefore this dosage can be used as a complement in the diagnosis of IAD.

Cytology profile and age influence in the equine bronchoalveolar lavage in healthy and asymptomatic inflammatory airway disease

Pulmonary inflammatory diseases have been observed in equine since their domestication. Non-infectious disease processes of the lower airways are amongst the most important diseases of the equine respiratory tract. This study aims to determine the cytology profile and effect of age on the evaluation of equine bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) obtained from healthy animals and from horses with asymptomatic inflammatory airway disease (IAD). Thirty two horses, including 20 males and 12 females, without clinical signs of pulmonary disease and with age varying from 4 to 21 years, were assigned to two groups: 15 animals in the control group and 17 in the asymptomatic group. Groups were divided according to physical examination and mucous accumulation observed during tracheal endoscopy. The BAL results from healthy and asymptomatic horses were, respectively: 56.9% and 48.0% macrophages, 37.2% and 40.0% lymphocytes, 3.3% and 7.1% neutrophils, 1.7% and 1.4% mast cells, 0.3% and 0.7% eosinophils; 0,5% and 0.4% epithelial cells. When horses in the two groups were analyzed according to their age range, no differences were found. In conclusion, IAD in the asymptomatic group was significantly different from the control group. The asymptomatic horses presented a discrete infiltrate of neutrophils, which does not influence cytological evaluation of BAL.

Association between exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage and inflammatory airway disease in polo ponies

ABSTRACT The respiratory system is essential for health and high athletic performance in horses. Respiratory diseases have been recognized as having a major impact on training equine animals and are commonly cited as the second most common cause of wasted training time. Inflammatory airway disease (IAD) is an important cause of poor performance in young racehorses. Exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) is considered a major issue for the equine industry because of its high prevalence and association with reduced athletic performance. In Brazil, polo is a growing equestrian sport, but studies on it are still scarce. The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of EIPH, the association between EIPH and IAD, and EIPH influence on the tracheal cytological profile of polo ponies. Thirty-seven horses regularly used for polo were included in this study. Endoscopic examination was performed every 30 to 90 min after practice, and tracheal lavage was performed after 18 to 24 hr. Sixteen animals (43.2%) presented a score of 0 for mucus in endoscopy; twelve animals (32.4%) presented a score for 1 and nine animals (24.3%) presented score 2 of mucus. IAD was characterized by tracheal cytology in 12 animals (32.4%). The occurrence of EIPH in this study was 29.7% (11/37). No significant difference was found in the cell types in tracheal cytology when EIPH-positive and EIPH-negative horses were compared. Polo ponies are affected by IAD and EIPH in relevant proportions, but there was no association between EIPH and tracheal cytological profile.

Análise do líquido broncoalveolar de equinos portadores de doença inflamatória das vias aéreas

The aim of this study was to characterize the cytology profile of bronchoalveolar lavage from police horses with asymptomatic Inflammatory Airway Disease (IAD). Seventeen adult horses, males and females, with ages ranging from 11 to 24 years old were utilized. The control group (eight horses) presented vital signs within the physiologic range, normal pulmonary percussion and auscultation, no abnormalities at respiratory endoscopy and at the measurement of the maximal intra-pleural pressure difference. The cell count of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) should be up to 4%, 0.7%, 3.3% to neutrophil, eosinophil and epithelial cell, and ranging of 17.0 to 56.7%, 29 to 75.7%, 0.7 to 13.7% to lymphocytes, macrophages and mast cell, respectively. The diseased group (nine animals) presented findings compatible with lower airway disease, at least during endoscopy and showed a neutrophil counts above 5% and below 25%. Asymptomatic IAD was characterized by neutrophilic infiltrate, discrete reduction in macrophage count with increased number of foamy macrophages and discrete eosinophilic infiltrate and marked increase in the number of epithelial cells. Due to the asymptomatic character of IAD in police horses, BAL is the preferred diagnostic and follow-up method since it allows recognition of the disease, evaluation of treatment and helps the implementation of a graded and rational work regime that aims at improving welfare of those animals as well as extending their usage as patrolling horses.

Microbiological Findings in Tracheal Wash From Mule Foals With and Without Clinical Evidence of Respiratory Disease

Abstract Respiratory diseases are common in horses; however, there is a lack of information in the literature on respiratory disease affecting mule foals. The objective of this study was to investigate the presence of aerobic bacteria in tracheal wash samples from 20 mule foals up to 6 months of age, with and without clinical evidence of respiratory disease. Samples were collected via endoscopy in two separate occasions and sent for cytology, microbial culture, and PCR for detection of Rhodococcus equi. Based on clinical evidence, 32.5% (13/40) of the samples were obtained from mule foals displaying signs of a respiratory condition, whereas 50% (20/40) of the samples showed cytologic evidence of respiratory tract infection. One hundred percent of samples provided positive cultures with Escherichia coli (45%), Enterococcus (37.5%), and coagulase‐negative Staphylococcus (30%) being the most common bacterial genera isolated. R. equi was not identified in any of the samples. The correlation between isolated bacterial agents and the presence of respiratory infection was not statistically significant. The microorganisms found in the samples may be naturally present in the soil, feces, and environment in which the animals live, presenting a risk of opportunistic respiratory infection. HighlightsAerobic bacteria was investigated in endoscopically obtained tracheal wash of mule foals up to 6 months of age with and without clinical evidence of respiratory disease.Bacterial growth of at least one type of bacteria was obtained in 100% of endoscopically obtained traqueal wash samples from mule foals, and at least two bacteria genera were identified in 87% of the samples.Escherichia coli, Enterococcus, and coagulase‐negative Staphylococcus were the most commonly isolated bacteria found in 45%, 37.5%, and 30.0% of samples, respectively.When frequency of bacteria genera in mule foals with or without cytologic evidence of infection was submitted to statistical analysis, no significant association was detected.

Alkaline phosphatase activity in airway fluid obtained by tracheal wash from adult horses.

BACKGROUND Collection of fluid from the lower respiratory tract (LRT) plays an important role in both the pathophysiological investigation and diagnosis of respiratory tract disease. Enzymes such as ALP are, among others, indicators of cell damage or death, type II pneumocyte proliferation, and neutrophil invasion, and have been useful as biomarkers of respiratory disease in other species. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to determine and compare tracheal wash (TW) ALP activity in healthy horses and horses with LRT inflammation (LRTI) determined by TW cytology profile. METHODS Tracheal washes were collected from asymptomatic adult geldings to measure ALP activity. The horses were allocated to the healthy group or the group with LRT inflammation based on differential leukocyte counts of TW preparations. Horses with > 20% neutrophils and > 1% eosinophils were allocated to the LRTI group, the horses with < 20% neutrophils and < 1% eosinophils were the controls. RESULTS Tracheal wash ALP activity, measured using a semiautomatic chemistry analyzer, was statistically significantly higher in 18 horses with LRTI (18.9 ± 11.2 × 10(3) U/L) than in healthy horses (10.3 ± 5.9 × 10(3) U/L) (P = .021). CONCLUSIONS Determining tracheal wash ALP activity is a simple, inexpensive and safe technique that can be used to facilitate the early diagnosis of equine respiratory disease, since it is higher in asymptomatic adult horses with a TW cytology profile consistent with LRT inflammation than in healthy adult horses with a normal TW cytology profile.

Efeito da filtração do lavado traqueobrônquico de equinos sobre a contagem diferencial de células

Tracheobronchial wash (TBW) is a method to recover cell samples from the airways. The cytology of TBW fluid is an important technique for the diagnosis of pulmonary diseases in horses. Excessive mucus in TBW may cause cell damage and morphological changes that hinder cell type recognition, resulting in a misdiagnosis. The aim of this study was to compare the results of differential cell count in a tracheobronchial wash of filtered and non-filtered samples. Endoscopy and TBW procedures were performed in thirty horses. Each TBW sample was split into two aliquots. Two groups were formed: non-filtrated aliquots (NF) and filtrated aliquots (F). The filtration was performed using a hydrophilic gauze pad. After centrifugation, the differential cell count was performed considering 300 nucleated cells. The filtrated aliquots results presented a significant increase of macrophages count and a significant decrease in neutrophils count comparing to the results of non-filtrated aliquots. These findings were consistent with results of filtered bronchoalveolar wash published studies. Therefore, the filtration of TBW is not an efficient method.

Incidência de lesões cutâneas em um rebanho ovino no município de Rio Bonito, RJ Brasil

RESUMO Um rebanho ovino no Município de Rio Bonito, Estado do Rio de Janeiro constituído de 144 animais, a maioria com pele despigmentada e com pelagem branca, apresentou alto índice de dermatite crônica (32,6%), carcinoma epidermóide (9%) e cisto epidermóide (4,7%). O carcinoma epidermóide foi observado em fêmeas adultas sendo quatro com localização na pálpebra, cinco na orelha, duas no focinho e duas no abdômen. O cisto epidermóide foi observado em 7 fêmeas deslanadas com mechas ralas, com localização cervical, torácica e abdominal. As lesões de pele foram diagnosticadas através do exame clínico e histopatológico. Cem por cento dos animais deslanados com mechas ralas apresentavam lesões de pele, sendo que 20 apresentavam mais de um tipo de lesão. A alta incidência de lesões de pele foi atribuída à exposição prolongada ao sol de animais despigmentados e sem uma boa proteção, devido a falta de densidade da lã, no caso dos deslanados com mechas curtas e ralas. A região apresenta insolação alta, associada às pastagens de grama nativa sem presença de sombreamento. A medida profilática adotada foi o descarte dos animais com lesões em estágios adiantados e dos reprodutores, substituindoos por animais pigmentados. Quatro anos após, a presença de animais com lesão de pele é mínima.