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Discussion on Research Study: Smectite for the Prevention of Post-Op Diarrhea
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Moderator: DrO
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Posted on Tuesday, Jan 13, 2009 - 9:24 am:
This is an extremely exciting finding. Administration of di-tri-octahedral smectite once daily for three days remarkably reduced the incidence of post-op colic surgery induced diarrhea. This normally occurs in almost half of colic surgeries. There are also good indications of less toxemia. With this finding one would expect to see a decrease in the incidence of other complications including founder. Certainly a question that must be being asked is, "how effective is this treatment in other inflammatory bowel disorders?". DrO Vet J. 2008 Dec 19; Di-tri-octahedral smectite for the prevention of post-operative diarrhea in equids with surgical disease of the large intestine: Results of a randomized clinical trial. Hassel DM, Smith PA, Nieto JE, Beldomenico P, Spier SJ. Department of Clinical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a commercially available di-tri-octahedral (DTO) smectite product on clinical signs and prevalence of post-operative diarrhea in horses with colic associated with disease of the large intestine. Sixty-seven horses with surgical disease of the large intestine were randomly assigned to be treated with DTO smectite (n=37; 0.5kg via nasogastric intubation every 24h for 3days post-operatively) or a placebo (n=30). The effect of treatment on fecal scores and clinical and hematological parameters, including heart rate, mucous membrane color, temperature, total white blood cell count, total neutrophil count and total plasma protein values, were determined. Horses treated with DTO smectite had a significant reduction in the prevalence of post-operative diarrhea (10.8%), compared with controls (41.4%). A significant improvement in mucous membrane color was observed 72h post-operatively in horses receiving treatment, compared with placebo. Administration of DTO smectite to colic patients with disease of the large intestine reduced the occurrence of diarrhea in the early post-operative period.
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Member: paul303
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Posted on Wednesday, Jan 14, 2009 - 12:16 am:
Dr. O, What, exactly IS DTO smectite? How does it work? Does it have any other applications with diarrhea besides post-op?
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