Review of 30 cases of peritonitis in the horse

Thirty cases of peritonitis, in which the diagnosis was based on a peritoneal fluid white blood cell count in excess of 10 x 10(9)/litre, are described. Colic, ileus, pyrexia, weight loss and diarrhoea were common presenting signs. Treatments included intravenous fluids, anti-inflammatory analgesics, broad spectrum antibiotics and anthelmintics. Duration of treatment was determined by the clinical condition of the horse and sequential analyses of the peritoneal fluid and the haemogram. In the majority of cases the primary cause of peritonitis was not accurately determined, but 21 horses (70 per cent) recovered. All the horses with diarrhoea were killed after marked deterioration in their clinical condition despite intensive treatment. No individual laboratory parameter was of value in determining prognosis, although of the eight (27 per cent) horses from which bacteria were identified in the initial peritoneal fluid by Gram stain, four (50 per cent) were subsequently killed.