Incidenza e fattori di rischio della rabdomiolisi in cavalli trottatori italiani in attivit� agonistica

A questionnaire was used to determine the incidence of exertional rabdomyolysis (RML) among 327 Italian Standarbred in 13 racing yards. The veterinarians and/or the trainers of the yards were interviewed monthly during a year. A case-control study was used to investigate the risk factors of the syndrome. The cases were diagnosed on the base of the clinical signs and the serum biochemistry. For each horse affected by RML were registered sex, age, temperament, feeding methods, training practices, driver, racing performances, days of rest, lameness, and respiratory diseases. Data from the horses affected were compared with the same data from two controls for each case randomly selected from the same yard. The incidence of RML was 8,6%. Females were most frequently affected. Age, temperament and management factors didn’t significantly differ between controls and affected horses. The reason for increased frequency of RML in females remains unclear and the pathogenesis of RML needs further investigations.WW