The use of cola for the treatment of gastric impactions in equids

Gastric impactions are an uncommon cause of colic in horses, although they appear to occur more often in Friesians. The administration of cola via nasogastric tube to resolve impactions has been described, but the efficacy of this treatment has not been reported. The aim of the study was to compare the success of treatment of gastric impactions with and without the use of cola and to determine whether Friesians are more often affected by gastric impactions than other breeds. For this retrospective descriptive case series, patient records were retrieved (2003-2019) and 125 horses with gastric impactions identified. The outcome, defined as discharge from the hospital, was compared between horses that were treated with cola and those that were not. The percentage of Friesians in the group of horses with gastric impactions was compared to that in the population admitted to our clinic and treatment success in Friesians was compared to that in other breeds. Overall 72/125 (57.6 %) horses with gastric impactions were discharged from the hospital, but the likelihood of survival was significantly greater for horses treated with cola (48/58 = 82.8 % vs. 24/67 = 35.8 %, P < 0.001). In 66 cases in which the impaction was resolved an estimate was made of the number of days taken for this to occur. The average time until resolution was 2.6 days (range 1-11). Of the 125 horses with gastric impactions 39 (31.2 %) were Friesians, a significantly higher percentage than in our hospital population (9.4 %, P < 0.001). Also, Friesians treated with cola were less likely to survive (12/18 = 66.7 %) than other breeds (36/40 = 90 %, P = 0.03). In conclusion, gastric impactions in horses are more likely to be resolved when treatment includes the nasogastric administration of cola. Friesian horses are more likely to develop gastric impactions than other breeds and less likely to survive.