The incidence of chronic gastric impaction and dilatation in horses: five clinical case reports

Background: Chronic gastric impaction and dilatation (CGID) in horses is a rare and poorly described disease. It is characterised by excessive accumulation of dehydrated ingesta in the stomach that does not clear after an appropriate fasting period. It can be identified as a primary or secondary condition, and because of the non-specific signs it can develop during months or years. The diagnosis is challenging, and the post-mortem and histopathological examinations also often fail to provide an explanation. Objectives: The aim of the current study was to review the published data and describe the clinical findings, treatment and outcome of horses diagnosed with CGID. The horses were treated at the Department and Clinic of Equine Medicine, University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest, between 2019 and 2021. Materials and Methods: In this three-year long period five horses were diagnosed with chronic gastric impaction and dilatation by the data derived from the history, physical examination, rectal palpation, abdominal ultrasonography, and gastroscopy. All horses were treated conservatively with parenteral and enteral fluid therapy, as well as gastric lavage repeated several times. Results and Discussion: The horses were showing mild colic signs or anorexia, but regurgitation and decreased body condition also occurred. In two cases, the impacted stomach could be palpated rectally, in three cases the diagnosis was confirmed by gastroscopy, but the dilated stomach was visible on the left side of the abdomen during ultrasonography in all cases. Two horses were euthanised due to the grave prognosis, three were discharged from the hospital, but all of them died within a year. Necropsy was done in two cases.