Prevention and treatment of thrombosis, phlebitis, and laminitis in horses with gastrointestinal diseases.

Organ thrombosis and laminitis are life-threatening complications in horses with acute gastrointestinal disease, especially those diseases that cause disruption of the protective mucosal barrier. Prevention of these complications should be a high priority when treating horses with gastrointestinal diseases because even with proper and intensive treatments, laminitis or organ thrombosis may not be curative. Preventative therapy should include expedient and appropriate treatment of the primary disease, normalization of tissue perfusion and oxygenation, and inhibition of gut-derived toxins or their systemically activated biologic products along with i.v. replacement of depleted anticoagulant proteins. Additionally, several risk factors for thrombophlebitis in horses with intestinal disease have been identified, and those risk factors should be minimized during the illness.