A comparison of subjective and quantitative methods for detection of physitis in Thoroughbred foals

Authors: Firth EC, Rogers CW, Ineson AC, Gee EK
Publication: New Zealand Veterinary Journal, Volume 52, Issue 2, pp 65-69, Apr 2004
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

Animal type: Horse, Livestock
Subject Terms: Skeletal/bone/cartilage, Diagnostic procedures, Limb - lower, Joint/arthrology, Growth/development, Imaging, Locomotor, Disease/defect
Article class: Scientific Article

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Abstract: AIM: To compare subjective and quantitative methods of assessing physeal swelling of the distal third metacarpal (Mc3) and metatarsal (Mt3) bones of Thoroughbred foals.
METHODS: The fetlocks of 16 Thoroughbred foals were filmed on five occasions over a period of 5 months and the video images were transferred to computer and digitised. The rate of change of each of the medial and lateral contours of the distal Mc3 and Mt3 bones was determined by calculating values for the second derivative of the contour. The degree of physeal swelling at the same site was subjectively assessed and allocated a grade based on an ordinal scale of severity. The maximum value for the second derivative was compared with the grade of physeal swelling.
RESULTS: The second derivative values for sites with slight to distinct physeal swelling (Grade ≥1.5) were significantly higher (p=0.001) than the second derivative values for sites with no apparent physeal swelling (Grade 0).
CONCLUSION: This finding indicates that the value of the second derivative of the contour of a limb has potential as a diagnostic tool for quantitative detection of physitis.
KEY WORDS: Horse, physitis, developmental orthopaedic disease, subjective assessment

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