Short-Term Survival and Postoperative Complications Ratesin Horses Undergoing Colic Surgery: A Multicentre Study

The occurrence of colic could be influenced by the characteristics of a population, geograph-ical area, and feeding management. The aim of this study was to report the short-term postoperativecomplications and survival rates and to identify factors that might affect the outcome of horses thatunderwent colic surgery in three Italian surgical referral centres. Data of horses subjected to colicsurgery in three referral centres (2018–2021) were analysed. Comparisons of the outcomes wereperformed using a Mann–Whitney or a Chi square test. Areas under the receiver operating character-istic (ROC) curve and multivariable logistic regression analysis were used for parameters that weresignificant in the previous univariate analysis. The goodness-of-fit of the model was assessed usingthe Akike information criterion (AIC). Significance was defined asp< 0.05, and odds ratios and 95%confidence intervals were calculated as percentages. A total of 451 horses were included. The survivalrate was 68.5% of all of the horses that underwent colic surgery and 80% of the horses survivinganaesthesia. Age, BCS, PCV and TPP before and after surgery, amount of reflux, type of disease, typeof lesion, duration of surgery, surgeon’s experience, and amount of intra- and postoperative fluidsadministered influenced the probability of short-term survival. The multivariate analysis revealedthat PCV at arrival, TPP after surgery, and BCS had the highest predictive power. This is the firstmulticentre study in Italy. The results of this study may help surgeons to inform owners regardingthe prognosis of colic surgery.