Intrabronchial instillation of platelet-rich plasma in equines with inflammatory airway disease – preliminary report

Abstract

Pulmonary inflammatory diseases are common among athletic horses. Treatments include environment control, corticosteroidsand bronchodilators, and, in some cases, they may be palliative. Cell therapy plays a potential role in treatingmany horse injuries, but it has not yet been indicated for equine pulmonary inflammation. This study hipothesis was thatintrabronchially instilled platelet-rich plasma (PRP) can benefit horses with pulmonary inflammation. 10 adult horses ofdifferent breeds and engaged in various activities, with spontaneous cough, were examined. Physical examination, endoscopicexamination, and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid cytology were conducted as study methods. A solution (20mL) containing autologous PRP diluted in platelet-poor plasma (PPP) was instilled in the right and the left main bronchusthrough an endoscopically guided procedure. The animals were reevaluated seven days after the treatment. As a result,physical examination and BAL fluid cytology identified RAO, IAD and a normal BAL fluid cytological profile in two, fiveand three horses, respectively. However, none of the horses had cough, and tracheal mucus grade decreased (p = 0.051)seven days after the treatment. The IAD horses showed significative improvement, indicated by a comparison of the mucusgrade and BAL fluid neutrophil amount before and seven days after the treatment (2.4 ± 1.1 vs. 1.4 ± 0.5, p = 0.034 and13.0 ± 5.0 vs. 5.0 ± 3.3, p = 0.014, respectively). Intrabronchial PRP instillation was benefic for horses with IAD and mayrepresent a novel therapy for athletic horses with pulmonary inflammation, further studies being necessary.