Death of an Arabian mare due to incomplete treatment of fetal maceration: a case report

Ten-year-old Arabian mare was referred to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, central Iran, in lateral recumbency with anorexia and severe weakness. On clinical examination, the mare was depressed, tachypneic (55 breaths/min), tachycardic (50 beats/min), and had a body temperature of 36.5 °C. Stronger heart tone than normal was detectable by stethoscope and mucous membranes were hyperemic. At necropsy, a distended uterus containing a large amount of malodorous thin sanguineous exudate, inflammatory debris, and fetal bones indicated fetal maceration that previously had been diagnosed by an inexperienced clinician but had not been cured exactly. Treatment consisting of intravenous administration of isotonic fluids, anti-inflammatory agent, and antibiotic was not successful and the mare died 3 h after the onset of the treatment. The current report is the first report of fetal maceration in Arabian mares and it seems that in the present case, incomplete treatment resulted in the retained fetal materials that caused severe toxemia and death.