Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Observational Study
. 2017 Oct 21;181(16):425.
doi: 10.1136/vr.104386. Epub 2017 Aug 1.

Are serum amyloid A or D-lactate useful to diagnose synovial contamination or sepsis in horses?

Claire S Robinson  1 , Ellen R Singer  1 , Martina Piviani  2 , Luis M Rubio-Martinez  1
Affiliations
Observational Study

Are serum amyloid A or D-lactate useful to diagnose synovial contamination or sepsis in horses?

Claire S Robinson et al. Vet Rec. .

Abstract

Synovial sepsis in horses is life threatening and accurate diagnosis allowing prompt treatment is warranted. This study assessed the diagnostic value of serum amyloid A (SAA) and D-lactate in blood and synovial fluid (SF) as diagnostic markers of synovial sepsis in horses and correlated them with total nucleated cell count (TNCC), percentage of neutrophils (%N) and total protein (TP) in SF. Blood and SF SAA and D-lactate concentrations were determined in a case-control observational study including 112 horses (38 with synovial contamination or sepsis (SCS), 66 with non-septic intra-synovial pathology (NSISP) and 8 controls). Blood and SF SAA were significantly higher in SCS than in NSISP and control horses. SAA values were similar in NSISP and control horses. SF SAA was moderately correlated with synovial TNCC, TP and blood SAA. Blood and SF SAA were 82.4 per cent and 80 per cent sensitive and 88.9 per cent and 73 per cent specific for diagnosis of SCS, with cut-off values of 60.7 and 1.14 µg/ml, respectively. Blood and SF D-lactate concentrations were not significantly different between groups. This study shows that blood and SF SAA concentrations can aid to distinguish SCS from non-septic synovial pathology; however, D-lactate was not useful.

Keywords: D-lactate; equine; saa; septic arthritis; synovial sepsis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared

Figures

FIG 1:
FIG 1:
Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve for synovial fluid (SF) serum amyloid A (SAA) concentrations as a diagnostic marker for synovial sepsis or contamination in horses. Based on a cut-off value of 1.14 µg/ml for SF, SAA had a sensitivity of 80% and specificity of 73% for the diagnosis of synovial contamination or sepsis.
FIG 2:
FIG 2:
Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve for blood serum amyloid A (SAA) concentrations as a diagnostic marker for synovial sepsis or contamination in horses. Based on a cut-off value of 60.7 µg/ml for blood, SAA had a sensitivity of 82.4% and specificity of 88.9% for the diagnosis of synovial contamination or sepsis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. Fraser BS, Bladon BM. Tenoscopic surgery for treatment of lacerations of the digital flexor tendon sheath. Equine Vet J 2004;36:528–31. 10.2746/0425164044877396 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Wereszka MM, White NA, Furr MO. Factors associated with outcome following treatment of horses with septic tenosynovitis: 51 cases (1986-2003). J Am Vet Med Assoc 2007;230:1195–200. 10.2460/javma.230.8.1195 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Taylor AH, Mair TS, Smith LJ, et al. Bacterial culture of septic synovial structures of horses: does a positive bacterial culture influence prognosis? Equine Vet J 2010;42:213–8. 10.2746/042516409X480403 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sanchez-Teran AF, Bracamonte JL, Hendrick S, et al. Effect of arthroscopic lavage on systemic and synovial fluid serum amyloid A in healthy horses. Vet Surg 2016;45:223–30. 10.1111/vsu.12439 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sanchez-Teran AF, Bracamonte JL, Hendrick S, et al. Effect of repeated through-and-through joint lavage on serum amyloid A in synovial fluid from healthy horses. Vet J 2016;210:30–3. 10.1016/j.tvjl.2016.01.001 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

Substances

LinkOut - more resources