A CLINICAL-TRIAL OF PROBIOTIC ADMINISTRATION FOR PREVENTION OF SALMONELLA SHEDDING IN THE POSTOPERATIVE PERIOD IN HORSES WITH COLIC

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of probiotic adm inistration on the prevalence of fecal shedding of Salmonella, the pre valence of postoperative diarrhea, the length of antimicrobial therapy , and the length of the hospitalization stay during the postoperative period in horses with colic. Two commercially available probiotics for horses were used in a double-blind prospective study of 200 horses un dergoing surgery for colic. Probiotic or placebo was administered PO o nce a day for 7 days postoperatively, and fecal cultures for Salmonell a were obtained daily for 10 days, After selection of 186 patients com pleting the treatment protocol, the results indicated that the commerc ial probiotic formulations had no effect on Salmonella shedding, preva lence of diarrhea, length of antimicrobial therapy, or length of hospi talization (P > .05). Twenty percent of the horses yielded 1 or more p ositive fecal cultures for Salmonella; of these horses, 74% were class ified as asymptomatic shedders. Twenty-six percent of all horses had f luid diarrhea postoperatively, with only 12% of these horses having po sitive fecal cultures for Salmonella. The most common isolate was Salm onella krefeld (24 of 39 isolates). Among the different gastrointestin al disorders, horses with feed and sand impactions appeared to be more prone to shed Salmonella. Copyright (C) 1997 by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.