Equine colic: A comprehensive overview of the sonographic evaluation, diagnostic criteria, and management of different categories.

Colic or acute abdominal pain is the most prevalent cause of emergency intervention in veterinary medicine, and it has been considered the principal reason for collapse and/or euthanasia in a wide range of studies. The condition may be initiated by a number of different disorders affecting the abdominal viscera, but acute gut disease is the most common etiology in equines showing colic symptoms. of the main goals of colic management is to distinguish between surgical and medical causes, as prompt surgical intervention can significantly improve outcomes for those requiring surgery. Despite the widespread use of diagnostics such as laboratory analyses and abdominal diagnostic imaging, the most common diagnostic indicators of the necessity for surgical intervention are the presence of either moderate or severe symptoms of pain reaction, pain recurrence after suitable therapy, and diminished intestinal sounds. Abdominal ultrasonography was performed in equines with signs of abdominal pain as a perfect tool for diagnosing small intestinal strangulation. The detection of unprecedented markers, which may help distinguish medical ailments from others that can be treated surgically, persists as an ongoing research area. This review was designed to highlight different categories of colic in equines with reference to sonographic assessment, diagnosis, and management. Abdominal pain can be divided into two major classes: gastrointestinal and non-gastrointestinal. The first class can be reasoned by different etiologies, starting from a harmless spasmodic colic to a life-threatening strangulating type of colic. Here, special emphasis will be given to several causes of gastrointestinal colic, including gastric impaction, gastroenteritis, flatulent colic, spasmodic colic, impaction colic, strangulating and obstructive colic, sand colic, verminous mesenteric arteritis, peritonitis, and hernias. This review will also discuss some important causes of non-gastrointestinal colic, including cystitis, urine retention, abdominal abscesses, and mesenteric abscesses. In conclusion, colic in equines is a fatal condition, and most cases do not recover if diagnosed late. Therefore, ancillary diagnostic tools should be implemented. Of these tools, abdominal ultrasound has been proven to be very effective in verifying equines with different causes of colic, such as flatulent colic, spasmodic colic, obstructive colic, impactive colic, strangulating colic, peritonitis, hernias, cystitis, urine retention, and abdominal abscesses. In addition, our estimation of serum biomarkers revealed potential diagnostic aids for patients with acute abdominal pain.