Longitudinal Changes in Fecal Microbiota During Hospitalization in Horses With Different Types of Colic.
Authors: Loublier Clémence, Costa Marcio, Taminiau Bernard, Lecoq Laureline, Daube Georges, Amory Hélène, Cesarini Carla
Journal: Journal of veterinary internal medicine
Summary
# Editorial Summary Understanding how different colic types affect the equine microbiota during hospitalisation could help clinicians identify prognostic indicators and refine supportive care strategies. Researchers tracked fecal microbiota changes in 23 hospitalised colicky horses (9 inflammatory, 5 strangulated, 9 simple obstruction) using 16S rRNA gene sequencing at admission, day 3, and day 5, comparing bacterial diversity metrics and taxonomy between colic types and survival outcomes. By day 5, inflammatory colic cases demonstrated significantly greater microbial richness and diversity (Shannon and Simpson indices, p<0.001) than other colic types, with notably distinct bacterial community composition overall (β-diversity, p<0.001); within the inflammatory group specifically, survivors and non-survivors showed meaningfully different microbiota membership (p<0.01), with increased relative abundances of *Bacilliculturomica* and *Saccharofermentans* associated with survival. These findings suggest that colic aetiology—rather than hospitalisation duration alone—drives microbiota shifts, and that certain bacterial taxa may serve as biological markers of prognosis in inflammatory colic cases, potentially offering a non-invasive tool for clinical decision-making and prognostication during the acute phase of hospitalization.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Colic type (inflammatory vs obstructive) influences fecal microbiota composition more substantially than the duration of hospitalization itself, suggesting type-specific pathophysiology drives microbial changes
- •Specific bacterial populations (Bacilliculturomica and Saccharofermentans) may serve as potential biomarkers for survival outcomes in hospitalized colic cases, though this requires validation in larger studies
- •Microbiota stability during hospitalization suggests that hospitalization-induced stress does not dramatically disrupt the fecal microbiome over a 5-day period in colic cases
Key Findings
- •Alpha diversity indices remained stable over 5 days of hospitalization within each colic group
- •At day 5, inflammatory colic group had significantly higher richness and diversity (Shannon p<0.001, Simpson p<0.05) compared to simple and strangulated obstruction groups
- •Beta diversity differed significantly between inflammatory colic and both simple/strangulated groups (p<0.001), but not between simple and strangulated groups
- •Increased relative abundances of Bacilliculturomica and Saccharofermentans were associated with survival in hospitalized colic horses