The Effect of Different Types of Musculoskeletal Injuries on Blood Concentration of Serum Amyloid A in Thoroughbred Racehorses

Training-induced muscle, skeletal and joint trauma may result in acute phase response reflected by the changes in the blood concentration of serum amyloid A (SAA) in racehorses. It remains yet unclear if such systemic reaction could be triggered by sport injuries and what is the impact of different types of musculoskeletal trauma on SAA concentrations in racehorses. This study aimed to determine changes in the SAA blood concentration in racehorses with different types of injuries of musculoskeletal system. The study involved 28 racehorses diagnosed after the race with bone fractures (n = 7), dorsal metacarpal disease (n = 11), joint trauma (n = 4) or tendon and muscle trauma (n = 6) and 28 healthy control racehorses. Serum samples were collected twice, between 1 and 4 days of the injury or succesful completion of the race. SAA concentration was measured using the commercial ELISA kit. Differences between mean SAA concentration in respective groups were analyzed using ANOVA and Tukey post-hoc test. Mean SAA concentration within the first 4 days of the injury of muscle and tendon was significantly higher than in bone fractures, dorsal metacarpal disease, joint trauma or in the healthy horses (p