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  Discussion on Severe reaction after sedation
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New Member:
ewpod

Posted on Tuesday, Jun 7, 2011 - 2:21 am:

Hi, apologies wasn't sure where to post this. My 6 yr old stockhorse came up lame over the weekend, unable to weightbear on hind leg. Called the vet, he had to sedate Charlie to get a good look at the hoof. The injection went into the jugular, he was extremely rough with the injection, forceful upward motion, as charlie jerked out the way the first time. Immediately, after the injection, a large tense swelling became apparent. This did not change in size whilst vet was there. A second dose of sedation was administered, I'm afraid I don't know what was used. After the vet left, I check on charlie about 2 hours later. he was swollen completely from chest to jaw bones, very tense swelling, extreme trouble breathing, with blood dripping from both nostrils. The vet at the consult thought he had blown the vein, but was unconcerned, thought the bute would help. 24 hrs later, swelling has decreased slightly, still harsh breath sounds, but not as raspy as before. Vet and another one have no idea why he is bleeding from the nose. It now stops and starts, but does not drip, but is apparent. Any ideas would be most appreciated. Many Thanks Esher
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Jun 7, 2011 - 11:43 am:

Welcome Esher,
About the only explanation for the an immediate large swelling would be bleeding from the venipuncture site. Reactions would take minutes to hours to develop.

The bleeding from the nose could be many things however. The fact that it is coming out of both nostrils tells us this is further back than the nasal passages and sinuses but until we know what is bleeding we don't know why or what if anything needs to be done. There may be a connection between the two events. If your horse has some sort of blood clotting disorder it may explain both events. I also wonder if the large clot in the neck may have depleted clotting factors or platelets.

At this point it is going to take an endoscopic exam to find where the blood is coming from and laboratory work to know if there are clotting problems. Then again if everything is getting better quickly and all vital signs are normal a wait and see attitude could be reasonable. For more on nose bleeds see HorseAdvice.com » Diseases of Horses » Respiratory System » Nose Bleeds: Epistaxis. For more on assessing vital signs see HorseAdvice.com » Diseases of Horses » First Aid » Taking Temperature, Pulse, and Respiration.
DrO
New Member:
ewpod

Posted on Wednesday, Jun 8, 2011 - 7:05 am:

Thanks so much for the reply. The swelling has decreased and the bleeding has stopped, thank goodness. I will pass your comments onto the vets and if it happens again at least I will know that the bleeding does stop eventually. Many Thanks Esher
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