2015 ACVIM Forum Research Abstract Program

Twenty-one clinically normal horses undergoing elective humane slaughter were subjected to gross examination of the glandular mucosa post-mortem. Glandular pathology was graded using Equine Gastric Ulcer Council guidelines from images obtained using a digital camera. Mucosal biopsies were obtained using a 'single-bite' technique using fenestrated endoscopic biopsy forceps that were 1.8 mm (Group A), 2.4 mm (group B) or a 'double bite' technique using the 2.4 mm instruments. Full thickness biopsies were also obtained from adjacent tissue to the biopsy site that included any lesions identified using the naked eye. All tissue was formal fixed, processed and stained using standard protocols. Histological appearance of the lesions was determined from each sample type and sample quality and artefacts were recorded. The appearance of inflammatory infiltrates was graded as mild, moderate or severe. Degree of inflammation was compared to ulcer grade. For a subset of animals that had shown moderate or severe gastritis from the full thickness sample (n = 5), inflammatory cell counts per high power field (HPF) were compared between full thickness biopsies and each of the samples obtained using endoscopic instruments. Agreement between cell counts from full thickness samples and mucosal biopsies were subsequently compared by calculation of intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC).