Equine Surgery Resident University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Urbana, Illinois
Omeprazole Reduced Severity of Gastric and Colonic Morbidity Induced by Combined Fasting/NSAID Model in Healthy Horses Compared to Sucralfate. Bishop RC, Kemper AM, Wilkins PA, McCoy A. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL.
Equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) is a common cause of morbidity in horses. Clinical signs include inappetence, colic, and poor performance. Hospitalized horses may be exposed to known risk factors for EGUS, including fasting and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) administration, putting them at high risk for formation of both squamous (ESGD) and glandular (EGGD) gastric ulcers. Prophylactic anti-ulcer medication selection is complicated by differences in etiology and response to treatment of ESGD and EGGD. This study tested the hypothesis that prophylactic omeprazole or sucralfate would be equally effective for prevention of EGUS in horses exposed to a combined feed-fast/NSAID ulcer induction model. Fourteen adult horses with ESGD and EGGD scores ≤ 2 were included in a randomized crossover experimental design. Horses received either omeprazole or sucralfate while undergoing the feed-fast/NSAID protocol. The alternate treatment was then administered after an eight-week washout. Serial gastroscopy, ultrasound, and hematology documented treatment effects. ESGD and EGGD worsened over time under both treatments. However, posttreatment EGGD scores were significantly higher for horses receiving sucralfate compared to omeprazole. The main limitation of this study is that it was performed in healthy horses, and response to treatment may differ in horses with clinical illness. A larger population of horses may be required to detect significant differences in other clinical parameters. Healthy horses developed severe ESGD and EGGD within five days of exposure to feed-fasting/NSAID protocol; omeprazole was superior to sucralfate for mitigating the formation of gastric ulcers in this study.