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  Discussion on Tachypnea NYD
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New Member:
Obtunded

Posted on Wednesday, May 12, 2004 - 2:34 am:

I was rather hoping I could get an opinion. I have a 12 year old Morgan gelding. I ride alot, having put on about 300 miles in the last 10 weeks alone. In hot weather and even following mild exercise, he becomes quite tachypneic, but without other symptoms. On a recent warm day following an easy walk across the paddock, his respiratory rate was 60 and it persisted. He has an equal I:E ratio and there are no adventitious breath sounds, he is and was afebrile. Following moderate to heavy exercise, his RR was 160 with a heart rate of 57. Again, his IE ratio appears equal and there are no adventitious sounds or cough. He shows no other signs of distress, in fact he is quite energetic, his gut sounds are present and his peripheral perfusion appears good.

Intuitively, this respiratory presentation causes me a great deal of concern, yet his lack of concurrent signs are perplexing.

I feel this should be investigated further and I realize that in the absence of a physical exam it is difficult to make a differential diagnosis. Have you any thoughts on this, and any recommendations as to what if any lab values should be asessed?

Kindest Regards,

Ian
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, May 12, 2004 - 6:35 am:

Welcome to Horseadvice Ian,
His RR went to 160? Wow. You are right the very first step is to have a good physical exam with a CBD and SMA-16.

Besides keeping the O2 and CO2 in check, respiration is tied to body temperature and less directly blood ph. Perhaps it is not coincidence that this is coming on as the weather warms. Hmmm...does he sweat normally? When you say he is afebrile, have you checked his temperature during one of these tachypneic episodes?
DrO
Member:
Obtunded

Posted on Wednesday, May 19, 2004 - 1:06 am:

Dear Dr. Oglesby,

Thank you for your prompt reply and I's sorry for my tardy response.

Please forgive my ignorance, but what are CBD and SMA-16? They're terms I'm not familiar with.

On a sad note however, this past weekend the horse in question suffered a significant tear to one of his suspensory ligaments in a hind leg. He was examined with U/S and the prognosis is poor.

I thought it noteworthy to discuss the symptoms with this vet (who sub-specializes in lameness issues) and he agreed that his resting respiratory rate is of concern and he has drawn blood. Interestingly, my wife took his call and she was able to relay that his results revealed significantly elevated AST and SGOT levels as well as a very high serum Fe (>48 hours post injury). It is not from supplimentation, I am suspecting ground water?

I will speak first hand with the vet tomorrow and find out what these result are.

Kindest regards,

Ian
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