hyperlipaemia

Gastrointestinal disorders in donkeys

Donkeys with colic may have subtle clinical signs of pain that delay detection, so a methodical clinical examination is needed to make a diagnosis. Using donkey-specific pain scoring can be helpful in monitoring progress and responses to analgesia. Hyperlipaemia is often secondary to the underlying disease process, and will reduce the prognosis for successful treatment, so assessing triglycerides and treating any elevation alongside other required blood testing is necessary. Ultrasound evaluation is helpful in donkeys which are too small for safe palpation per-rectum, and serum and peritoneal lactate values may be useful in guiding prognosis. Surgical treatment of colic in donkeys has a poorer success rate that in the horse, largely due to delays in diagnosis and referral as a result of the lack of overt pain signs, postoperative complications and hyperlipaemia. Preventative care is often lacking in donkeys, so provision of regular routine dental management, routine parasite monitoring and control (including appropriate use of anthelmintics and dietary management to ensure a healthy body weight) are areas that veterinarians and nurses can assist with. Donkeys cope poorly with stress, so when undergoing treatment, any bonded companion should be kept close by.

Journal
Volume
8
Issue
2
Publication date

Nutritional support of hyperlipaemic donkey

Alexandra K. Thiemann
Presentation date

Simple advice regarding donkey food preferences can assist owners in restoring appetite to donkeys with mild hyperlipaemia. As the disease progresses further intervention with nasogastric tubing, intravenous fluids and total parenteral nutrition may be required. This presentation will cover the support needed and calculations requited to treat hyperlipaemia in a donkey.

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Emergency management for donkeys and mules

This article provides an overview of initial assessment and management of common emergency presentations in donkeys and mules. The principles are similar to those in horses (and ponies), but clinicians must be aware of differences in recognition of signs of pain/disease, approach to handling, pharmacology of some drugs, and subtle differences in the physiology and local anatomy in donkeys and mules. The epidemiology of common disease presentations will vary between pet/companion or working/farmed donkeys and mules. Regular dental checks, deworming, vaccination, and monitoring of behavior and quality of life are important aspects of preventive care.

Volume
37
Issue
2
Start page
495
End page
513
Publication date

Nutritional management of hyperlipaemia

Hyperlipaemia is a disease resulting from excessive mobilisation of triglyceride stores such that plasma clearance processes become overwhelmed. Consequently increased plasma triglyceride concentrations (>5.6 mmol/l), visibly cloudy plasma and a sick, anorexic or hypophagic subject follow. Epidemiological studies have identified many predisposing and triggering factors and the attentive carer or veterinary surgeon should be alert to such risk factors so that the disease can be prevented, or at least identified and treated at an early stage. Hyperlipaemic subjects are invariably in a negative energy balance, and nutritional management therefore plays a central role in both the prevention and resolution of the disease.

Publication date
Country

Necropsy survey of gastric ulcers in a population of aged donkeys: prevalence, lesion description and risk factors

There is no information about the prevalence of gastric ulceration in donkeys or potential risk factors for its presence in donkeys. The donkey is a stoic, hardy animal that has not previously been thought to suffer from this disease. However, gastric ulceration was found to be a problem in a population of non-working UK donkeys resident at the Donkey Sanctuary and its prevalence was estimated by examining necropsy data over a 2-year period during 2005 to 2006. Associations with clinical and management factors were determined. In total, 426 donkeys were examined at necropsy to determine the presence of gastric ulceration. Lesions were described and scored according to a four-point scale. Management and clinical data from these donkeys were analysed to identify potential risk factors for the presence of gastric ulceration. Terminal blood samples were also studied to determine whether animals were exhibiting hyperlipaemia prior to death. Results showed that 41% (n = 174) of the donkeys studied had evidence of gastric ulceration at necropsy. Most (49%) of the ulcers were of a medium size (area of xs2A7E2 cm2 – <10 cm2) and the most common site for ulcers was the margo plicatus. Of the donkeys examined, 18% had hyperlipaemia prior to or death or euthanasia and this was a risk factor for donkeys developing gastric ulceration; 62% of hyperlipaemia cases also displayed gastric ulceration (P < 0.001). Kidney disease was a potential risk factor (P = 0.02), with 74% of these animals having gastric ulceration. Donkeys that died or were euthanased due to respiratory disease were at a decreased risk of developing ulceration (P = 0.01) Donkeys fed a carbohydrate-based diet were more likely (P < 0.001) to have gastric ulceration than those fed a fibre-only diet, with 55% having gastric ulceration compared with 33% in the fibre-only group. This study has shown that gastric ulceration is commonly observed in donkeys at necropsy and may be extensive.

Journal
Volume
3
Issue
2
Start page
287
End page
293
Publication date

Gastrointestinal disorders of donkeys and mules

A review of common gastrointestinal disorders of donkeys and mules is presented. Clinically relevant aspects of donkey behavior, anatomy, and physiology are highlighted. Diagnosis, management, and treatment of conditions affecting the gastrointestinal tract from stomach to rectum, including liver and pancreas, are discussed.

Published online ahead of print.

Volume
35
Issue
3
Start page
419
End page
432
Publication date
Country

Nutritional risk factors for the development of hyperlipaemia in a population of donkeys

Faith A. Burden
Elizabeth Hazell-Smith
Andrew F. Trawford
Presentation date
Published as conference proceedings
Publication date
Volume
128
ISBN (13-digit)
978-9-08-686155-2
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