Diagnostic accuracy of blood sucrose as a screening test for equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) in adult horses

Michael Hewetson; Ben William Sykes; Gayle Davina Hallowell; Riitta-Mari Tulamo

doi:10.1186/s13028-017-0284-1

Back

Diagnostic accuracy of blood sucrose as a screening test for equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) in adult horses

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Diagnostic accuracy of blood sucrose as a screening test for equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) in adult horses

Michael Hewetson, Ben William Sykes, Gayle Davina Hallowell and Riitta-Mari Tulamo

Acta veterinaria scandinavica, Vol.59, 15

11/03/2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13028-017-0284-1

PMCID: PMC5346197

PMID: 28284214

Files and links (2)

pdf

Diagnostic accuracy of blood sucrose as a screening test for equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) in adult horses1.21 MBDownload View

Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open Access

url

Diagnostic accuracy of blood sucrose as a screening test for equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) in adult horsesView

Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open

Metrics

10 Record Views

12 Times Cited - Web of Science

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

Source: InCites

Abstract

Sucrose

Equine

Ulcer

Glandular

Squamous

EGUS

EGGD

ESGD

Permeability

Sensitivity

Specificity

Background Equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) is common in adult horses, particularly those involved in performance disciplines. Currently, detection of EGUS by gastroscopy is the only reliable ante mortem method for definitive diagnosis; however it is unsuitable as a screening test because it is expensive, time consuming, and is not readily available to most veterinarians. Sucrose permeability testing represents a simple, economical alternative to gastroscopy for screening purposes, and the feasibility of this approach in the horse has been previously reported. The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of blood sucrose as a screening test for EGUS in a large group of adult horses with and without naturally occurring gastric disease. Results One hundred and one adult horses with or without naturally occurring gastric ulceration were studied. The diagnostic accuracy of blood sucrose for diagnosis of gastric lesions (GL), glandular lesions (GDL), squamous lesions (SQL), and clinically significant lesions (CSL) at 45 and 90 min after administration of 1 g/kg of sucrose via nasogastric intubation was assessed using receiver operator characteristics (ROC) curves and calculating the area under the curve (AUC). For each lesion type, sucrose concentration in blood was compared to gastroscopy, as the gold standard, and sensitivities (Se) and specificities (Sp) were calculated across a range of sucrose concentrations. Ulcer grading was performed blindly by one observer; and the results were validated by comparing them with that of two other observers, and calculating the level of agreement. Cut-off values were selected manually to optimize Se. The prevalence of GL, GDL, SQL, and CSL was 83, 70, 53 and 58% respectively. At the selected cut-offs, Se ranged from 51 to 79% and Sp ranged from 43 to 72%, depending upon the lesion type and time of sampling. Conclusions Blood sucrose is neither a sensitive or specific test for detecting EGUS in this population of adult horses with naturally occurring gastric ulceration. Further studies aimed at evaluating the performance characteristics of the test in different study populations are warranted. Given the limitations of endoscopy, due consideration should also be given to alternative methods for comparison of blood sucrose with a gold standard.

Details

Title: Diagnostic accuracy of blood sucrose as a screening test for equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) in adult horses
Creators: Michael Hewetson - University of Helsinki
Ben William Sykes - University of Queensland
Gayle Davina Hallowell - University of Nottingham
Riitta-Mari Tulamo - University of Helsinki
Publication Details: Acta veterinaria scandinavica, Vol.59, 15
Publisher: The Danish Veterinary Association
Identifiers: 991013160050902368
Academic Unit: Faculty of Science and Engineering
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

Diagnostic accuracy of blood sucrose as a screening test for equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) in adult horses

Files and links (2)

Metrics

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Abstract

Details

Southern Cross University Social media