Ultrasonography as an Accurate Tool for the Diagnosis of Equine Sand Colic with Special Reference to Hematological and Biochemical Alterations

A total of thirty native draft horses were divided into two main groups; Group 1: had fifteen healthy, Group 2: had fifteen horses suffered from sand colic. All horses were undergone to a full clinical investigation. DRAMISKI 4 vet diagnostic ultrasound device was used. Horses with sand colic showed mild to moderate colic, anorexia, chronic weight loss, poor performance, sandy manure and characteristic pouring sand sound that heard in ventral abdomen in the area just caudal to the xiphoid region. The rectal palpation in horses with sand colic revealed increased hardness of fecal ball and gassy dilation or impacted segment the colon. The wall of the large colon was seemed "brighter" and more hyperechoic by ultrasonography. The hematobiochemical findings revealed that the values of RBCs, Hb, monocytes, sodium, chloride, potassium and calcium were significantly decreased, while PCV, WBCs, neutrophils and lactate dehydrogenase were significantly increased in horses with sand colic compared to healthy ones.