Clinical insights: Clinicopathological parameters for diagnosing and predicting outcome of horses with colic

Abstract

A favourable outcome in cases of colic depends on early referral and prompt differentiation of strangulating and nonstrangulating obstructive lesions to allow for quick surgical intervention. While history and physical examination provide essential information for decision making, clinicopathological parameters using bodily fluids such as blood, peritoneal fluid, saliva or urine offer the appeal of being objective regardless of the observer. If parameters can be easily measured with