The acute thorax syndrome is common in horses and has a high mortality rate. The development of more efficient treatment regimens will certainly account for an increased number of successful outcomes. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the silicon tube’s complacency, draining ability and radiopacity when used as a thoracic drain in horses. Changes in physiologic parameters, blood cell count and pleural fluid were also investigated. Ten horses of different breeds, body weight and age were used and the silicon tube was placed in the pleural cavity by means of a trocar, with the horse under sedation and local anesthesia. Following introduction and placement in the ventral portion of the cavity, the tube was connected to an intravenous set and closed with a triple valve. Vital functions were monitored and blood cell count, plasmatic fibrinogen and pleural fluid were analysed. Data were evaluated by statistical multivariate analysis. Conclusions were: the silicon tube has good draining ability and maintains its consistency in contact with the pleural fluid; tube complacency can be affected; the tube has good radiopacity.
equine; thoracic drain; pleural fluid; silicon
