Corneal Ulcers in Critically Ill Foals in Intensive Care: Case Series of Standard Treatment and Corneal Cross-Linking

•Corneal ulcers in newborn foals can occur due to prolonged recumbency or entropion.•Topical medical therapy to treat corneal ulcers has limitations in equine patients.•Corneal cross-linking could be used to treat corneal ulcers in critically ill foals.•Corneal phototherapy could reduce antibiotic o...

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Veröffentlicht in:Journal of equine veterinary science 2023-11, Vol.130, p.104910, Article 104910
Hauptverfasser: Imposimato, Ilaria, Mariella, Jole, Freccero, Francesca, Gialletti, Rodolfo
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:•Corneal ulcers in newborn foals can occur due to prolonged recumbency or entropion.•Topical medical therapy to treat corneal ulcers has limitations in equine patients.•Corneal cross-linking could be used to treat corneal ulcers in critically ill foals.•Corneal phototherapy could reduce antibiotic ocular administrations in foals. Riboflavin/UV-A corneal cross-linking (CXL) has been applied to treat corneal ulcers in adult horses, but its use in critically ill neonatal foals has not been described. Five cases of hospitalized, critically ill neonatal foals that were in intensive care with corneal ulcers, the ophthalmic treatment, and their outcome up to 1 year are described. A single treatment of CXL phototherapy was performed in three of five foals (five eyes). The application of a riboflavin ophthalmic solution for 20 minutes was followed by the UV-A light irradiation at 30 mW/cm2 for 3 minutes. Topical antibiotic administration was withdrawn after CXL. Two other foals received standard treatment. Descriptions of ocular lesions, fluorescein staining, and photographic documentation were recorded. The visual outcome, corneal transparency, and aesthetics, as well as healing time were evaluated in the follow-up. The frequency of topical medication considerably decreased in cases treated with CXL. Corneal opacity and pain decreased within 3 days following CXL. In the foals treated with CXL, the ulcers healed (fluorescein stain negative) in 24, 28, and 35 days after the onset of clinical signs and 10, 15, and 21, after CXL. No fibrosis or corneal scars were found in the cases treated with CXL. The two standard treatment cases healed after 26 and 36 days respectively. Corneal cross-linking may be an additional or alternative treatment of corneal ulcers in critically ill neonatal foals and may reduce the use of antibiotics.
ISSN:0737-0806
1542-7412
DOI:10.1016/j.jevs.2023.104910