Collapse in the Horse

Collapse describes varying states of sudden and extreme depression and prostration, and is associated with extreme dysfunction of the cardiovascular, neurological, respiratory or gastro- intestinal systems. Severe interruption in homeostatic function due to toxic insult, peracute systemic inflammatory response syndrome and metabolic derangement should also be considered. Collapsed horses will typically progress quickly to one of: death, recovery to recumbency, recovery to standing neurological deficits, completes recovery, or intermittent repetitive episodes of collapse. Collapse can broadly be split into central (brain and brain stem) and peripheral causes; with central cases having varying interruption of consciousness (somnolence to coma), and peripheral cases having normal mentation but abnormal motor function, orthopaedic disease, cardiac, respiratory, muscular or metabolic diseases. for relative frequencies of these different types see Lyle C JViM 2010;24:1498-1502. […]