Hypoxemia in the horse under anesthesia

Abstract

On June 27, 1987, a 10 year old pregnant, Thoroughbred mare was presented to the NYSCVM with a chief complaint of colic. She had been found "colicy" in the pasture 2 hours earlier. She had a previous history of recurrent mild colic and laminitis. Before shipping, she had been treated with xylazine and flunixin meglumine which did not seem to alleviate the pain. Upon presentation the mare had a heart rate of 40, a respiratory rate of 20 and a temperature of 101.2 F. Her capillary refill time (CRT) was greater than 2 sec and her mucous membranes were bright pink. The abdomen was slightly distended and there was hypoperistalsis on the left side. On rectal palpation, she had distended small bowel. No gastric reflux was obtained after passing a naso-gastric tube.