Clinical and diagnostic features of inflammatory airway disease subtypes in horses examined because of poor performance: 98 cases (2004-2010)

Objective—To determine whether there are important differences relating to seasonality of signs or clinical features between subtypes of inflammatory airway disease (IAD) in horses caused by neutrophilic and eosinophilic-mastocytic inflammation having dissimilar etiopathologic pathways. Design—Retrospective case series. Animals—98 horses. Procedures—Data were compiled from medical records of horses examined because of poor performance from 2004 through 2010. Horses underwent a standardized high-speed treadmill test, lameness evaluation, cardiac evaluation, and postexercise bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). By means of standard BAL cytologic criteria, horses were divided into 4 groups: eosinophilic-mastocytic inflammation, neutrophilia only, mixed inflammation, or no inflammation (control). Associations between IAD subtype and clinical parameters were investigated. Results—Data for 98 horses were obtained, including age, career, season of admission, and results of hematologic evaluation, high-speed treadmill a...