Ultrasound‐guided biopsy of the cricoarytenoideus lateralis muscle: Technique and safety in horses. (30th August 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: O'Neill, H. D.; Ballegeer, E. A.; De Feijter‐Rupp, H. L.; Stick, J. A.; Derksen, F. J.; Robinson, N. E.
• Is Part Of: Equine veterinary journal. Volume 46:Number 2(2014:Mar.)
• Page Start: 244
• Page End: 248
• Publication Date: 2013-08-30
• Subjects: Horses -- Diseases -- Periodicals; 636.108905
• DOI: 10.1111/evj.12105
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0425-1644

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title>Summary</title> <sec id="evj12105-sec-0001" sec-type="section"> <title>Reasons for performing study</title> <p>Current diagnosis of recurrent laryngeal neuropathy (RLN) depends upon disease recognition in the clinically affected horse. Biopsy of the intrinsic laryngeal muscles may provide a method to identify the changes in fibre‐type composition that occur in RLN before clinical signs become apparent.</p> </sec> <sec id="evj12105-sec-0002" sec-type="section"> <title>Objective</title> <p>To develop an ultrasound‐guided biopsy technique of the left <italic>cricoarytenoideus lateralis</italic> muscle (CALM) and evaluate its efficacy and safety <italic>in vivo</italic>.</p> </sec> <sec id="evj12105-sec-0003" sec-type="section"> <title>Study design</title> <p>A longitudinal descriptive study.</p> </sec> <sec id="evj12105-sec-0004" sec-type="section"> <title>Methods</title> <p>Six standing horses underwent ultrasound‐guided biopsy of the left CALM. Frozen muscle cores were obtained with a breast biopsy tool. Serial endoscopic, ultrasonographic and physical examinations before and for 8 weeks after the biopsy were assessed for iatrogenic trauma. Histologies of representative muscle core cross‐sections were analysed for the total number of muscle fibres obtained with each biopsy.</p> </sec> <sec id="evj12105-sec-0005" sec-type="section"> <title>Results</title> <p>There were no immediate complications of the procedure and the left CALM was harvested in all instances. Biopsy samples had an average weight of 0.043 g (range = 0.023–0.077 g) and contained 3418 fibres in cross‐section (range = 711–7143). Laryngeal endoscopic grade did not change significantly between prebiopsy and the end of the 8 week follow‐up. The left CALM had significantly greater echogenicity than the right throughout the study (P<0.001), but there was no difference between the prebiopsy CALM echogenicity and that at completion of the study.</p> </sec> <sec id="evj12105-sec-0006" sec-type="section"> <title>Conclusions</title> <p>Ultrasound‐guided biopsy of the left CALM is safe and well tolerated, providing a minimally invasive method to obtain muscle from healthy horses. This new technique may be applicable in research and clinical settings.</p> </sec> </abstract>