TABLE 12.3.

Predominant Clinical and Clinicopathologic Features of Horses with Proliferative and Infl ammatory Bowel Diseases

Condition	Breed	Age Range	Clinical Signs	Dermatitis/Coronitis	Hematology	Chemistry	Absorption Tests
Alimentary lymphosarcoma	None	2 yr to aged; Majority ≤4 yr	Weight loss, poor appetite, edema, depression, occadional fever, occasional diarrhea or colic	+/– Scurfy skin	Anemia, neutrophilia; lymphocytosis rare	Decreased albumin; TP normal to increased; increased globulin	Reduced absorption; partial to complete malabsorption
Granulomatous enteritis	Standardbred	1-6 yr; Majority ≤3 yr	Severe wasting, edema, variable appetite, depression, infrequent diarrhea, occasional slight fever	+/– Scurfy skin; severe lesions rare	Anemia; Leukocytes normal to slightly increased or decreased	Decreased albumin; TP normal to decreased; GGT normal, ALP normal to increased	Reduced absorption; partial to complete malabsorption
Multisystemic eosinophilic epitheliotropic disease	Standardbred, Thoroughbred	1 yr to aged; Majority ≤4 yr	Severe wasting, edema, appetite poor to ravenous, slight fever, diarrhea or soft feces common, rare colic, depression, oral ulcers	++++ Severe skin lesions and ulcerative coronitis prominent	Anemia rare to slight; neutrophilia and eosinophilia rare	Decreased albumin; TP normal to decreased; GGT and ALP normal to increased	Delayed absorption (peak shifted to right); reduced or normal peak concentration
Lymphocytic plasmacytic enterocolitis	None	3 yr to aged	Inappetence, depression, colic, edema		Normal	Decreased albumin and TP; increased fibrinogen	Inadequate absorption
Proliferative enteropathy	None	3-8 months; sporadic reports older	Depression, colic, diarrhea, edema, appetite often normal, concurrent infection	+/– Scurfy skin	Anemia, leukocytosis	Decreased albumin and TP; increased CK	Often normal

∗GGT, γ-Glutamyltransferase; ALP, alkaline phosphatase; CK, creatine kinase; none, no predominant breed.