Use of inhaled ciclesonide for treatment of moderate asthma in Thoroughbred racehorses

Abstract

Background: Mild-moderate asthma is common in horses. Inhaled ciclesonide has been approved only for treatment of severe asthma in horses. Hypothesis/Objectives: We hypothesized that a 10-day treatment course of inhaled ciclesonide (Aservo EquiHaler) would improve clinical signs, endoscopic tracheal mucus scores, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) cytology in racehorses with moderate asthma. Animals: Racehorses with moderate asthma housed at the Emerald Downs Racetrack in Auburn, WA. Methods: Prospective, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical study. Horses received inhaled ciclesonide (n = 12) or placebo (n = 9) for 10 days. Clinical signs were assessed at different times using the Tesarowski and HOARSI scores and cough during exercise. Endoscopy scoring, BALF cytology, and BALF cell selected gene expression (RT-qPCR) were assessed on Days 0 and 10. Linear and ordinal simple and mixed effects models were used to analyze the data using R statistical software. Significance was set at P