Oesophageal disorders in horses: Retrospective study of 39 cases

Oesophageal diseases are less frequently reported in equine veterinary practice in comparison with other alimentary pathologies. This paper describes the prevalence, age, breed and sex distribution, the duration of clinical presentation before admission, the diagnosis, aetiology, treatment course, complications, length of hospitalisation, and the short‐term and long‐term survival of 39 cases with equine oesophageal disorders at a referral clinic. Prevalence of oesophageal disorders was significantly higher in the group of horses up to 4 years of age in comparison with other age groups. The most common oesophageal disorder was simple obstruction represented by 22/39 cases (56.41%). The common complications of the oesophageal disorder were oesophagitis (16/39, 41.02%) and aspiration pneumonia (11/39, 28.20%); 31/39 (79.49%) of all oesophageal cases survived up to clinical discharge. Long‐term survival was 65.78% in this group of cases.