Preparing Joint Injection Sites in Horses (AAEP 2012)

When administering equine joint injections, veterinarians must take steps to minimize the risk of infections.
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When administering equine joint injections, veterinarians must take steps to minimize the risk of septic arthritis developing in the treated joint. Particularly in equine athletes, septic arthritis can be a devastating and debilitating complication, though aggressive treatment returns a large range (27-92%) of affected horses back to work.

Stephen Adams, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, of Purdue University’s School of Veterinary Medicine, described appropriate site preparation and needle selection for septic arthritis prevention at the 2012 American Association of Equine Practitioners’ (AAEP) Convention, held Dec. 1-5 in Anaheim, Calif.

“Up to 80% of septic arthritis cases subsequent to joint injections are due to Staph species that, in fact, live on the horse’s skin, as well as the veterinarian’s skin,” Adams remarked. “One can never completely disinfect all layers of all portions of the skin.”

Still, preparing the injection site helps minimize the risk of joint contamination. In previous studies veterinarians have demonstrated that the presence of hair at the injection site does not inhibit antiseptics’ ability to effectively reduce the skin surface bacterial flora to an acceptable level. In other recent studies investigators proved that scrubbing with chlorhexidine was superior to using tamed iodine (Betadine solution)

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Written by:

Nancy S. Loving, DVM, owns Loving Equine Clinic in Boulder, Colorado, and has a special interest in managing the care of sport horses. Her book, All Horse Systems Go, is a comprehensive veterinary care and conditioning resource in full color that covers all facets of horse care. She has also authored the books Go the Distance as a resource for endurance horse owners, Conformation and Performance, and First Aid for Horse and Rider in addition to many veterinary articles for both horse owner and professional audiences.

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