Aim:

-        Peritoneal fluid analysis to confirm diagnosis of intra-abdominal pathology including inflammatory, infectious, neoplastic, obstructive, and bowel strangulation, leading to additional diagnostic and therapeutic plans as in horses suffering from colic, diarrhea, weight loss, or other conditions involving the abdominal cavity and is an integral component of diagnostic testing for colic.

-        To evaluate the abdominal cavity of the horse with valuable diagnostic information   to monitor patients with abdominal diseases being managed medically and to determine their need for surgical management.

Procedure

1.     Abdominal fluid collection using an 18-Ga, 3.8-cm (1.5-in) needle is recommended for adult horses to penetrate the peritoneal cavity. The teat cannula technique is recommended for use in adult horses, foals, and miniature horses to reduce the risk of enterocentesis, even though this procedure is more traumatic than using an 18-Ga, 3.8-cm needle.  

2.      The needle or teat cannula is manipulated for several minutes in an attempt to obtain a sample from an area of fluid accumulation.

3.     The sample is collected into an ethylene diaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) tube for cytology and a sterile tube, syringe, or culture vial for bacterial culture and sensitivity testing.

 Complications

1-     The main complication with abdominocentesis is enterocentesis, which should be suspected when green-brown fluid is obtained in a horse with clinical signs inconsistent with gastrointestinal tract  rupture/perforation the incidence rate about  2–5% was reported  . When an enterocentesis occurs, the needle or teat cannula should be removed. Although prophylactic antimicrobial drug administration is recommended, the necessity is unknown.

2-      Localized cellulitis and peritonitis are rare consequences of enterocentesis and probably more likely to occur in horses with compromised bowel.

3-      Injury to the spleen can occur and may happen more frequently in horses with a nephrosplenic entrapment whereby the spleen is moved ventrally and across midline.  .

4-     Omental herniation is a complication of abdominocentesis in foals using the teat cannula Abdominocentesis in foals should be performed with sonographic guidance and using a needle