Statistical approach to characterize medical and dietary patterns in equine surgical colic patients

Colic is a very important issue for horses and horse owners but the nutrition management of the post-operative colic patients is a clinical field not frequently investigated. Current literature is not unanimous on feeding plans in the postsurgical period. Further, there is a lack of little evidences about nutritional strategies to improve horse survival and reduce postsurgical complications is available at present. The aim of this retrospective study (between 2012-2017) is to analyze different factors (in particular nutritional management) as related to recovery duration in two veterinary teaching hospitals: the Department of Veterinary Science of the, University of Turin (Italy), and the Department of Veterinary Medicine of the, University of Lisbon (Portugal). Data were gathered from the clinical records of the two hospitals; the parameters collected (patient information, preoperative examinations, operative and postoperative details and feeding criterions) were transformed in a numeric classification in order to proceed with MCA and PCoA to categorical data and subjected to multivariate analysis. The length (days) of hospitalization was the outcome of interest for the statistical analysis, and was taken into account as reference parameter for all the others. From the analysis output, surgical colic risk class seemed to poorly correlate to does not influence length of hospitalization, while it is more important postsurgical management fit more closely. Length of recovery had a direct association positive correlation with the duration of fluid therapy, and appearance of complications (ileum, reflux and food rejection). On the other side, length of hospitalization showed a negative correlation to an indirect association with BCS, quality of gastrointestinal sounds, time to first food eating, quantity of early food consumption and time to reach minimum DM intake. Gender, hematocrit before surgery, time needed to first defecation after intervention and long fiber/short fiber ratio did not affect recovery duration. Based on preliminary indications obtained from the present retrospective survey, On these basis management guidelines have been proposed, as to investigate in subsequent intervention studies their efficacy in reducing recovery duration for postcolic surgery.