Retrospective case study of foals admitted to a Veterinary Hospital

Abstract

Areas of equine veterinary medicine have been gaining more strength to meet the specificities and challenges found in each stage of reproduction until the birth and complete development of the foal. Equine neonatology is growing rapidly, but there is a lack of studies, especially epidemiological ones. This work aims to evaluate neonatal and pediatric epidemiology, within a large animal veterinary hospital in the interior of São Paulo, over a period of time from 2018 to 2022, taking into account race, sex, age, admission diagnosis, treatment (clinical or surgical) and outcome (animal discharge or death). 284 patients were evaluated, with a proportion of 147 males to 159 females. The main conditions were of the digestive system, followed by musculoskeletal disorders and pathogenesis of the nervous system, however the prevalence of nervous system complications were observed in animals admitted within one day of life, leading to a rate of 13% of hospitalizations of foals. The death rate for this group reached 80%. Gestational monitoring can be a good tool to reduce neonatal death, since certain pathogenesis raised in this study are commonly caused during pregnancy or at the time of birth, but more research in this area is needed.