2018 ACVIM Forum Research Abstract Program: Seattle, Washington, June 14 - 15, 2018

Stephanie Vijan 1 , Katarzyna Dembek 2 , Steven Reed 3 , Nathan Slovis 4 , Ramiro Toribio 5 Septicemia is the leading cause of mortality in newborn foals. Progesterone is mainly known for its role in pregnancy; however, it is also a precursor to adrenocortical and neuroactive steroids and likely plays important functions in equine neonates. Human studies have demonstrated that progesterone modulates immunity and predisposes to inflammatory conditions. However, the mechanisms by which progesterone influences outcomes in sick foals remain unclear. The goal of our study was to measure blood concentrations of inflammatory cytokines and serum amyloid A (SAA) in healthy and hospitalized foals, and to determine their association with progesterone, severity of disease, and mortality. We hypothesized that hospitalized foals will have higher progesterone, 17 α -hydroxyprogesterone and cortisol concentrations that will be associated with the inflammatory response, disease severity and mortality. Foals (n = 62) were divided into three groups based on severity of disease (septic [n = 31], sick non-septic [SNS; n = 21], and healthy [n = 10]), and hospitalized foals (SNS and septic) were divided into two groups based on survival (survivors and non-survivors). Blood samples were collected on admission. Hormones were measured by radioimmunoassay, and cytokines by ELISA.