Acute changes in serum iron concentrations in anesthetized healthy horses.
Veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia – January 01, 2025
Source: PubMed
Summary
During anesthesia, horses experience a dramatic drop in blood iron levels, with the most significant decrease occurring 24 hours after the procedure. In healthy horses monitored over time, serum iron dropped by nearly 60% a day after anesthesia, suggesting that the body's inflammatory response affects iron regulation. This finding helps veterinarians better interpret blood work in horses recovering from surgery, preventing potential misdiagnosis of inflammatory conditions.
Abstract
To determine if serum iron concentrations decrease acutely during and after general anesthesia in healthy horses. Prospective experimental study. A convenience sample of 24 healthy adult horses (eight females, 16 geldings), weighing 545 ± 33 kg (mean ± standard deviation). Horses were anesthetized for 120 minutes with isoflurane, after premedication with intravenous (IV) xylazine (0.8 mg kg-1) and induction with IV midazolam (0.1 mg kg-1) and ketamine (2.2 mg kg-1). Blood samples for serum iron analysis were obtained just before premedication (baseline), after 60 minutes of anesthesia (T60), after 120 minutes of anesthesia (T120), immediately after recovery (TREC) and 24 hours after induction (T24). Serum iron values are reported as mean ± standard deviation. Serum iron concentration was 152 ± 29 μg dL-1 at baseline, with reductions at other time points: 136 ± 25 μg dL-1 at T60, 133 ± 26 μg dL-1 at T120, 136 ± 26 μg dL-1 at TREC and 63 ± 19 μg dL-1 at T24. Serum iron concentrations acutely decrease in healthy horses during and after general anesthesia for at least 24 hours. General anesthesia may interfere with the use of serum iron for detecting and monitoring systemic disease and inflammation in horses.