EXERCISE-INDUCED PULMONARY HAEMORRHAGE IN HORSE: ACUPUNCTURE TREATMENT AND PREVENTION

摘要

Exercise-Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhage (EIPH) occurs in horses that race at high speeds such as Thoroughbred and Standardbred race horses. Poor athletic performance and epistaxis are the most common presenting complaints for horses.Many horses with poor performance have cytologic evidence of EIPH on microscopic examination of tracheobronchial aspirates or bronchoalveolar lavage fluid or have blood evident on endoscopic examination of the tracheobronchial tree performed 30 - 90 minutes after strenuous exercise or racing. The cause of EIPH is rupture of alveolar capillary membranes with subsequent leakage of blood into interstitial and alveolar spaces. Rupture of pulmonary capillaries and subsequent haemorrhage into airways and interstitium cause inflammation of both airways and interstitium with subsequent development of fibrosis and alteration of tissue compliance. The structural abnormalities combined with pulmonary hypertension and large intrathoracic forces associated with respiration during strenuous exercise, cause repetitive damage at the boundary of normal and diseased tissue with further haemorrhage and inflammation. The process continues for as long as the horse performs strenuous exercise.