Effectiveness of Ozone Therapy in The Treatment of Endometritis in Mares.
Authors: Ávila Ana Caroline Araújo, Diniz Natália Castro, Serpa Rafael Torres, Chaves Maria Manoela Barata de Castro, Viu Marco Antônio de Oliveira, de Oliveira Rodrigo Arruda
Journal: Journal of equine veterinary science
Summary
# Endometritis Treatment: Ozone Therapy Shows Promise for Mares Endometritis remains a significant cause of subfertility in mares, and whilst conventional treatment with uterine lavage provides some benefit, alternative antimicrobial approaches warrant investigation. Researchers compared three intrauterine treatments in 25 mares with documented uterine infection and inflammation: standard lavage with Ringer's lactate (control), lavage followed by insufflation with an oxygen-ozone gas mixture (40 µg O₃/mL for 10 minutes), or infusion of ozonised sunflower oil. Both inflammatory status (via cytobrush cytology) and microbial load (via culture) were assessed before and after treatment. The ozone gas group demonstrated the most dramatic improvement, reducing neutrophil counts from 10.67 to 2.89 per field (P < 0.05) and achieving negative cultures in 89% of treated mares, compared with just 43% in the control group and 78% in the oil group. Direct intrauterine oxygen-ozone insufflation appears to offer meaningful advantages over lavage alone for resolving both infectious and inflammatory components of endometritis, potentially improving reproductive outcomes, though practitioners should note this represents a relatively small study and further validation across diverse mare populations would strengthen clinical adoption.
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Practical Takeaways
- •Intrauterine ozone gas therapy is an effective, low-cost alternative to conventional treatments for endometritis in mares with documented uterine infection
- •O3-gas treatment achieves superior results compared to simple lavage alone, reducing both inflammatory cell counts and positive bacterial cultures significantly within a single treatment cycle
- •Consider ozone therapy as a viable option for mares with poor response to standard antimicrobial protocols or in resource-limited settings where antimicrobials are unavailable
Key Findings
- •O3-gas treatment significantly reduced neutrophil counts from 10.67±3.84 to 2.89±3.59 cells/field (P<0.05), whereas control group showed minimal change from 9.14±3.02 to 7.71±3.59
- •O3-gas treatment reduced positive uterine cultures from 100% to 11% of mares post-treatment, compared to 57% in control group and 22% in O3-oil group
- •Both O2-O3 gas mixture and ozonized sunflower oil demonstrated effectiveness, with direct intrauterine O3 gas infusion showing superior reduction of inflammation and infection markers