Within-Breath Oscillatory Mechanics in Horses Affected by Severe Equine Asthma in Exacerbation and in Remission of the Disease.
Authors: Stucchi Luca, Ferrucci Francesco, Bullone Michela, Dellacà Raffaele L, Lavoie Jean Pierre
Journal: Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
Summary
# Editorial Summary: Oscillatory Mechanics in Equine Asthma Impulse oscillometry system (IOS) measures airway resistance and reactance non-invasively, allowing detection of expiratory flow limitation in human asthma patients; this study investigated whether similar oscillatory patterns could identify and characterise severe equine asthma (SEA) across disease states. Researchers compared inspiratory and expiratory resistance and reactance measurements at 3, 5, and 7 Hz in seven horses with SEA during clinical exacerbation, seven in remission, and seven healthy controls, analysing how reactance values differed between breathing phases. During acute exacerbation, affected horses demonstrated significantly more negative expiratory reactance than inspiratory reactance—a hallmark of tidal expiratory flow limitation comparable to human asthma—whilst horses in remission and controls showed less pronounced differences. Notably, inspiratory reactance measurements showed promise in distinguishing remission cases from healthy horses, suggesting IOS could serve as an objective diagnostic tool for monitoring disease progression and treatment response. For practitioners, these findings indicate that oscillometry may offer a non-invasive, repeatable method to quantify airway dysfunction beyond clinical observation, potentially refining our ability to detect subclinical disease and guide therapeutic adjustments in SEA management.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Impulse oscillometry (IOS) is a non-invasive diagnostic tool that can help differentiate severe asthma exacerbation from remission in horses by measuring respiratory system resistance and reactance
- •Inspiratory reactance (X) measurements may serve as a clinical indicator to distinguish horses in remission from healthy horses, potentially aiding in disease monitoring
- •This oscillometry-based approach offers an objective, breathing-pattern-sensitive method for assessing airway disease severity and may improve clinical decision-making for asthmatic horses
Key Findings
- •Horses with severe equine asthma in exacerbation show more negative expiratory reactance (X) than inspiratory X, indicating tidal expiratory flow limitation similar to humans with asthma
- •Inspiratory reactance (X) measurement by impulse oscillometry shows promise for discriminating between horses with SEA in remission and healthy control horses
- •Oscillometry parameters at 3, 5, and 7 Hz can be reliably measured in horses with coherence values >0.85 at 3 Hz and >0.9 at 5 and 7 Hz