Portable, hand-held blood analyzers that measure various blood values such as electrolytes and pH are a valuable tool and provide improved patient care, reports a Brazilian research team led by Juliana Peiró, DVM, PhD, from the Department of Clinics, Surgery, and Animal Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, Unviersidade Estadual Paulista.

"When diagnosed early, alterations in hydration, electrolyte concentrations, and acid-base status allow for fast and adequate clinical intervention and increase the chances of animal survival," reported the researchers.

Since veterinarians examine many horses far from hospitals or veterinary facilities where standard laboratory equipment is available to test blood samples, on-farm "point-of-care" devices called portable clinical analyzers (PCAs) would be beneficial.

In veterinary medicine, PCAs are used in a variety of species, but only limited data are available for their use in horses