Prognostic Significance of Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate for Survival in Equine Colic

Accurate early prognostic assessment is a central aspect of clinical decision-making in horses presenting with colic. Despite the availability of multiple clinical and laboratory parameters, reliable biomarkers that provide useful information at the time of admission remain limited. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate is a non-specific indicator of systemic inflammation that has recently been validated for automated point-of-care use in horses. Its behaviour in equine colic has not been previously characterised. This study included 85 horses admitted for colic at two university referral hospitals. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate was measured at admission in all horses and again approximately 24 h after surgery in a subset of surgical cases. Horses were classified as medically managed, surgical survivors or surgical non-survivors. Group comparisons were performed using non-parametric statistical methods, and associations with survival were evaluated. The admission erythrocyte sedimentation rate was significantly lower in surgical non-survivors compared to the other groups (p < 0.05). Erythrocyte sedimentation rate rose in surviving horses within 24 h, while it barely changed among non-survivors, and there were no significant changes among surgical values. Actually, these observations suggest that low erythrocyte sedimentation rates on admission are associated with low chances of survival for horses undergoing colic surgery and thus make these rates a feasible additional prognostic indicator for equine colic.