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Journal article
Radiographic area of large intestinal sand accumulation in horses may determine clinical significance
Australian veterinary journal, Vol.103(12), pp.890-893
2025
PMID: 40778662
Appears in Open Access via Read & Publish Agreements
Abstract
Background
Sand enteropathy is a common disease in horses worldwide. The presence of sand does not always cause disease. The amount of sand required to cause clinical disease is not well established.
Objectives
To establish a weight-indexed cut-off for the diagnosis of clinically relevant sand enteropathy based on radiographic area.
Study design
Cross-sectional.
Methods
Abdominal radiographs were acquired from clinically normal horses and compared with horses with clinical sand enteropathy. Sand area and sand area per kilogram of body weight were calculated. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to differentiate groups.
Results
Seventy clinically normal horses and 57 sand enteropathy cases were included. Median sand area in control horses was 1 cm2 per 100 kg (interquartile range 0–6 cm2 per 100 kg), and in sand enteropathy horses was 118 cm2 per 100 kg (interquartile range 83–180 cm2 per 100 kg). Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed that using a cut-off of 21 cm2 per 100 kg had a sensitivity of 98.25% (CI 90.71%–99.1%) and a specificity of 92.54% (CI 83.69%–96.77%) for a diagnosis of clinical sand enteropathy.
Conclusions
A weight-based cut-off of >21 cm2 per 100 kg for the diagnosis of sand enteropathy was determined with excellent sensitivity and good specificity. This may aid in determining if the amount of sand accumulation in a horse is of clinical consequence.
Details
- Title
- Radiographic area of large intestinal sand accumulation in horses may determine clinical significance
- Authors/Creators
- I G Entwisle - Murdoch UniversityD P Byrne - Murdoch University, School of Veterinary MedicineG D Lester - Murdoch University, School of Veterinary MedicineE J McConnell - Murdoch University, School of Veterinary Medicine
- Publication Details
- Australian veterinary journal, Vol.103(12), pp.890-893
- Publisher
- John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australian Veterinary Association.
- Identifiers
- 991005806849407891
- Copyright
- © 2025 The Author(s).
- Murdoch Affiliation
- Murdoch University; The Animal Hospital At Murdoch University; School of Veterinary Medicine
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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