Critically ill foals are seven percent more likely to survive if they receive plasma with higher concentrations of antibodies as opposed to traditional plasma, according to results of a recent study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine’s Large Animal Hospital.

“The most critically ill foals, those with septicemia, were most likely to benefit,” notes Dr. Simon Peek, a large animal veterinarian at the school who conducted the study, which was published in the May/June issue of the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

Both versions of the plasma are produced by the same manufacturer.

The study also evaluated more than 40 other measurable variables in sick foals. Based on the results, those measures can now be used to more accurately predict which sick newborn foals are more likely to survive