PROGNOSIS FOR RETURN TO RACING AFTER RECOVERY FROM INFECTIOUS PLEUROPNEUMONIA IN THOROUGHBRED RACEHORSES - 70 CASES (1984-1989)

Objective-To determine the percentage of Thoroughbred racehorses that would be capable of racing performance after recovery from infectious pleuropneumonia.Design-Retrospective case series. Animals-70 Thoroughb red horses that had recovered from pleuropneumonia. Only horses less t han or equal to 5 years old and horses > 5 years old known to be in ra ce training at the time of illness were included in the study. Results -Forty-three of the 70 (61%) horses raced after recovery, and 24 of th e 43 (56%) won at least 1 race. Horses that required placement of an i ndwelling thoracic drain apparently did not have a worse prognosis tha n did horses that did not require placement of a drain. The prognosis for racing for horses that developed pleuropneumonia-associated compli cations (pulmonary abscess, cranial thoracic mass, bronchopleural fist ula) was worse than the prognosis for horses that did not develop thes e complications. Duration of hospitalization was not considered indica tive of outcome. Clinical Implications-In Thoroughbreds, the prognosis for return to racing after recovery from uncomplicated pleuropneumoni a appears to be good.