Acute Corneal Edema in an Arabian Horse: A Case Report

Abstract

Introduction: Due to the vulnerable position of the eye, eye injuries are very common in horses. Lack of effective and prompt treatment of eye injuries leads to blindness. Most of the trauma to the horse's eye is the blunt type and usually causes more severe injuries than sharp blows. However, in all these cases, at first, acute uveitis with different severities occurred, which requires quick treatment and can have different consequences.

Case report: A two-year-old male Arabian horse with a history of ocular trauma for 4 days to the right eye was referred to the large animal clinic of the School of Veterinary Medicine, Shiraz University, Iran. All other clinical signs, including temperature, respiratory rate, appetite, and mental state were normal. Ocular examination revealed extensive corneal edema, elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) detected by palpation of the globe, blepharospasm, conjunctival hyperemia, miosis, and epiphora. Eye disorder was diagnosed as acute corneal edema and traumatic uveitis. Treatment included administration of flunixin meglumine for three days, atropine eye drops once a day, latanoprost eye drops once a day, gentamicin, and ciprofloxacin eye drops three times daily, and eye wash with saline 0.9% solution twice a day. The treatment continued for 2 weeks and resulted in complete healing which confirmed the diagnosis. The treated horse had a positive response to the therapy and fully recovered within 20 days. No relapse or complications were observed during the final check-up.

Conclusion: Acute uveitis is a common complication following blunt trauma to the eye and is diagnosed by clinical symptoms. Since this situation could have a devastating consequence on vision, immediate diagnosis and treatment are essential to achieve the desired result. The treatment of these patients is symptomatic treatment based on anti-inflammatory, mydriatic, and antibiotics. Depending on the patient's condition, the use of other drugs, such as intraocular pressure reducers may be helpful and essential to prevent or treat complications, including glaucoma.