Is a 12-hour fasting period sufficient to complete gastric emptying in horses?
Sind 12 Stunden Fasten ausreichend für die vollständige Entleerung des Magens bei Pferden?
Heller S, Bäuerlein V, Sabban C, Vervuert I, Venner M
DOI: 10.21836/PEM20220103
Year: 2022
Volume: 38
Issue: 1
Pages: 16–23
Up to now there is no standard protocol to prepare a horse for a gastroscopy. Therefore, the aim of the study was to find out whether a fasting period of 12 hours prior to gastroscopy would be sufficient for a complete emptying of a horse’s stomach that allows a good visualisation of all gastric regions. Another aim was to measure the size of the stomach at ultrasonography by counting the intercostal spaces and investigate whether a sonographically large stomach prior to fasting influences the emptying of the stomach. The study was divided in two parts. In part 1, 10 horses belonging to the Institute of Animal Nutrition, Nutrition Diseases and Dietetics of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Leipzig, Germany, were examined four times, three weeks apart. Part 2 of the study included a total of 50 horses that were referred to the Equine Clinic Destedt GmbH and divided into two groups. Group A consisted of 34 of the 50 horses that had an empty stomach after 12 hours of fasting. Group B consisted of the other 16 horses that did not empty their stomachs within the fasting period of 12 hours. Transabdominal ultrasonography was performed on the left side of each horse 12 hours before gastroscopy, thus, at the beginning of the fasting period. The size of the stomach was determined by counting intercostal spaces where the stomach was visible at ultrasonography. The horses underwent gastroscopy after 12 hours of fasting. Gastroscopy was used to determine whether the stomach was empty or not. The stomach was declared empty if small and large curvature, margo plicatus, antrum pylori and pylorus could be visualised properly. In part 1, only one horse’s stomach could not be properly examined once due to ingestion of faeces. In part 2 of the study, including 50 horses, a 12-hour fasting period led to sufficient emptying of the stomach in 68 % of horses (group A). The stomachs of the remaining 16 horses (group B) were either filled with liquid (2 horses) or solid content (13 horses); one horse had residual food particles sticking to the mucosa. In part 1 (n = 10), the median size of the stomach was eight intercostal spaces (min: 4; max: 12). There is a need for more research to define the range of the size of the equine stomach because the size of stomachs that were measured in this study was larger than in recent studies. Additionally, the diagnosis of delayed stomach emptying should not depend on only one examination but should be repeated at least a second time. The median size of the stomach prior to fasting in part 2 of the study (n = 50) was seven intercostal spaces (min: 2; max: 12) in both group A and B. There was no correlation between the stomach size and delayed gastric emptying.