What would be your pick for the most groundbreaking news in equine lameness, surgery, or racing for 2010? Not sure? Read on to find out what Scott E. Palmer, VMD, Dipl. ABVP (Equine Practice), hospital director and a staff surgeon of the New Jersey Equine Clinic in Clarksburg, N.J., and past president of the AAEP and American Board of Veterinary Practitioners, deemed the most important news in these areas in 2010. He presented this discussion during the Kester News Hour session to help kick off the 2010 American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention, held Dec. 4-8 in Baltimore, Md.

Diagnostic Techniques

Veterinarians are always looking for improved diagnostic methods. Palmer discussed several studies on diagnostic techniques, including one study from Equine Veterinary Journal (EVJ) in which researchers compared different culture techniques for growing bacteria from synovial (joint) fluid. They found that use of enriched blood culture media increased the likelihood of obtaining a positive culture, which can help veterinarians be more successful in treating joint infections.

The second study correlated bacterial cultures from synovial fluid to survival rates of horses with joint infection. "Twenty-one percent of horses with positive cultures (containing bacteria) were euthanized vs. 1.4% of controls," commented Palmer. He also noted that horses with Staphylococcus aureus cultured from their joints did not fare as well as those without