• DVM360_Conference_Charlotte,NC_banner
  • ACVCACVC
  • DVM 360
  • Fetch DVM 360Fetch DVM 360
DVM 360
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
By Role
AssociatesOwnersPractice ManagerStudentsTechnicians
Subscriptions
dvm360 Newsletterdvm360 Magazine
News
All News
Association
Breaking News
Education
Equine
FDA
Law & Ethics
Market Trends
Medical
Politics
Products
Recalls
Regulatory
Media
dvm360 LIVE!™
Expert Interviews
The Vet Blast Podcast
Medical World News
Pet Connections
The Dilemma Live
Vet Perspectives™
Weekly Newscast
dvm360 Insights™
Publications
All Publications
dvm360
Firstline
Supplements
Vetted
Clinical
All Clinical
Anesthesia
Animal Welfare
Behavior
Cardiology
CBD in Pets
Dentistry
Dermatology
Diabetes
Emergency & Critical Care
Endocrinology
Equine Medicine
Exotic Animal Medicine
Feline Medicine
Gastroenterology
Imaging
Infectious Diseases
Integrative Medicine
Nutrition
Oncology
Ophthalmology
Orthopedics
Pain Management
Parasitology
Surgery
Toxicology
Urology & Nephrology
Virtual Care
Business
All Business
Business & Personal Finance
Hospital Design
Personnel Management
Practice Finances
Practice Operations
Wellbeing & Lifestyle
Continuing Education
Conferences
Conference Listing
Conference Proceedings
Upcoming dvm360 Conferences
Resources
CBD in Pets
CE Requirements by State
Contests
Partners
Spotlight Series
Team Meeting in a Box
Toolkit
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vet to Vet
Veterinary Heroes
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Advertisement
By Role
  • Associates
  • Owners
  • Practice Manager
  • Students
  • Technicians
Subscriptions
  • dvm360 Newsletter
  • dvm360 Magazine
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us
  • MJHLS Brand Logo

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences™ and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Corticosteroid Therapy for Equine Asthma

October 31, 2018
Natalie Stilwell, DVM, MS, PhD

Information compiled from several studies indicates that inhaled and systemic corticosteroids are similarly effective for treatment of equine asthma.

Equine asthma is a chronic respiratory disorder with mild to severe signs. Anti-inflammatory drugs, including glucocorticosteroids, are commonly chosen for treatment.

Researchers in Italy and the United Kingdom recently performed a meta-analysis to combine results from published studies that quantitatively assessed effectiveness of corticosteroid therapy for equine asthma. In doing so, they developed a new scoring system to evaluate clinical severity in equine patients, as well as observed improvement with treatment.

Literature Search

The investigators performed an extensive literature search for studies evaluating the effect of corticosteroid treatment on clinical equine asthma. They included old or alternative names for the condition, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), heaves, broken wind, inflammatory airway disease, and restrictive airway obstruction. Specific drugs used to treat equine asthma were also searched, including beclomethasone, budesonide, dexamethasone, fluticasone, isoflupredone, prednisolone, and prednisone.

Of the 5120 articles found, only 6 studies used a clinical scoring system to evaluate the effectiveness of inhaled and/or systemic corticosteroids. The studies dated from 2003 to 2016 and assessed a total of 80 horses with restrictive airway obstruction. Of these, 3 studies evaluated both inhaled and systemic corticosteroids, 2 studies involved only systemic corticosteroids, and 1 study involved only inhaled corticosteroids.

A New Clinical Scoring System

The authors determined that the 6 studies cumulatively offered an adequate sample size for analysis. Most studies used a scoring system developed in 1998 to quantify the severity of 2 clinical signs, nasal flaring and abdominal effort. From this, the authors developed the Improved clinically Detectable Equine Asthma Scoring System (IDEASS) with an 8-point scale to identify equine asthma cases as normal, mild, moderate, severe, or very severe. They proposed that a 1-point difference in the scale represented the smallest change in clinical signs that could be detected.

Inhaled Versus Systemic Corticosteroids

Advertisement

Combined results from the 6 studies indicated that corticosteroid administration significantly improved clinical equine asthma, reducing clinical signs by an average of 29.5%, or 2.4 points on the 8-point scale. Inhaled and systemic routes of administration offered similar efficacies.

RELATED:

  • Equine Cushing Disease Around the World
  • New Treatment Helps Horses Breathe Easier

The dose and frequency of administration directly affected the degree of clinical improvement; however, other variable factors among the studies did not significantly affect outcome. These included the method used to induce clinical signs, type of inhaler device used, use of dust-reduction methods, and professional level of personnel administering treatment.

A Word of Caution

Because the evaluated quantitative studies all focused on horses with severe asthma (reactive airway obstruction), the authors cautioned against applying the results to horses with less severe inflammatory airway disease. Also, while some systemic corticosteroids appeared to alleviate clinical signs more quickly than inhaled forms, systemic corticosteroids have potentially serious adverse effects. Therefore, the authors recommended inhaled therapy for treatment of equine asthma.

They also expressed a need for future studies to quantitatively evaluate the benefits of combined therapy using corticosteroids and bronchodilators, a treatment regimen they consider to be “far more applicable to clinical practice.”

Dr. Stilwell received her DVM from Auburn University, followed by a MS in fisheries and aquatic sciences and a PhD in veterinary medical sciences from the University of Florida. She provides freelance medical writing and aquatic veterinary consulting services through her business, Seastar Communications and Consulting.


Advertisement

Latest News

Comparing treatments for restoring the skin barrier in atopic dogs

Increasing efficiency and productivity in uncertain times

AAVMC awards almost $100,000 in diversity scholarships

News wrap-up: This week’s headlines, plus Maryland Zoo welcomes baby addra gazelle

View More Latest News
Advertisement