Belli Carla Bargi, Fernandes Wilson Roberto, Torres Luciana Neves, Sucupira Maria Claudia Araripe, de Sá Lilian Rose Marques, Maiorka Paulo Cesar, Neuenschwander Henrique Macedo, de Barros Aline de Matos Curvelo, Baccarin Raquel Yvonne Arantes
Department of Internal Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, São Paulo - SP, Brazil.
Department of Pathology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, São Paulo - SP, Brazil.
J Equine Vet Sci. 2021 Nov;106:103752. doi: 10.1016/j.jevs.2021.103752. Epub 2021 Aug 30.
Copper toxicity is thought to be a rare condition in horses. However, the number of cases diagnosed in Brazil is growing. This article aims to describe cases of copper toxicity involving horses from different geographic locations and discuss findings of physical examinations, differential diagnoses and potential causes. Five cases referred from 4 different properties where at least 15 other horses were affected were described. Hemolytic anemia and hemoglobinuria, presence of Heinz bodies and elevated aspartate aminotransferase and gamaglutamil transferase levels were detected in all cases. The diagnosis was based on clinical history and signs, laboratory tests results, copper level determination in feed and/or soil and histopathological findings. Two horses progressed to acute death; remaining horses responded to clinical management with or without blood transfusion, depending on disease severity. However, one of these horses, after several returns to the veterinary hospital, was euthanized due to complications. One horse was treated with ammonium tetrathiomolybdate. Two horses had several recurring episodes over the course of several months, an uncommon presentation in ruminants suffering from copper toxicity. Excess copper was associated with soil fertilization with poultry litter or treatment of previous or neighbor crops with copper-containing products. It can be concluded that copper toxicity does occur in horses and may arise from several sources and/or be associated with predisposing dietary factors. Given the growing number of cases, the condition should be included in the differential diagnosis list and proper preventive dietary and pasture fertilization measures adopted.
铜中毒在马匹中被认为是一种罕见病症。然而，在巴西诊断出的病例数量正在增加。本文旨在描述涉及来自不同地理位置马匹的铜中毒病例，并讨论体格检查结果、鉴别诊断及潜在病因。描述了来自4个不同牧场的5例病例，这些牧场中至少还有15匹马受到影响。所有病例均检测到溶血性贫血和血红蛋白尿、海因茨小体的存在以及天冬氨酸转氨酶和γ-谷氨酰转移酶水平升高。诊断基于临床病史和体征、实验室检查结果、饲料和/或土壤中铜含量的测定以及组织病理学发现。2匹马进展为急性死亡；其余马匹根据疾病严重程度接受了临床治疗，有的还进行了输血。然而，其中一匹马在多次返回兽医医院后，因并发症而被安乐死。一匹马接受了四硫代钼酸铵治疗。2匹马在几个月的时间里出现了几次复发情况，这在患有铜中毒的反刍动物中是不常见的表现。过量的铜与用家禽粪便施肥的土壤或用含铜产品处理先前或邻近作物有关。可以得出结论，马匹确实会发生铜中毒，可能源于多种来源和/或与易引发中毒的饮食因素有关。鉴于病例数量不断增加，应将该病症列入鉴别诊断清单，并采取适当的预防性饮食和牧场施肥措施。
