{"doi":"10.1111/eve.14109","title":"Characteristics of meconium impaction/retention in newborn foals: From 2006 to 2024","abstract":"Background: Meconium impaction/retention is a significant cause of colic in foals. Historically, limitations of both medical and surgical treatment are noted. Outcomes of meconium impaction/retention have not recently been reported. Objective: To describe case characteristics and outcomes in foals with meconium impaction/retention. Study design: Retrospective, single referral hospital. Methods: Medical records from 2006 to 2024 were searched for foals ≤3 days old with a history of straining to defecate, abdominal distention, colic, weakness and/or tail flagging. Signalment, presenting complaint, treatment, outcome and comorbidities were summarised and compared between groups based on sex and survival. Associations between comorbidities and survival were evaluated by zero-inflated Poisson regression. Results: Forty-three foals met the inclusion criteria. Male foals dominated (30/43; 70%). All foals were managed with enemas; phosphate (11/43; 30%), water with soap/lube (25/43; 58%), not specified 9/43 (21%), multiple types (8; 19%), acetylcysteine retention (1; 2%). Forty foals (93%) survived to discharge, and three (7%) were humanely euthanised. Of surviving foals, 37/40 (93%) responded fully to medical treatment. Surgical treatment was required in 4 foals (9%); 3/4 (75%) survived. Comorbidities were common including sepsis (10/43; 23%), pneumonia (10/43; 23%), failure of passive transfer (6/43; 14%) and hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (5/43; 12%). Non-survivors (3/43; 7%) were euthanised due to sepsis, limb malformation and pneumonia. Main limitations: Small sample size and low number of non-survivors prevented meaningful statistical analysis. Conclusion: Medical management of meconium impaction/retention is successful in the great majority of cases. Prognosis depends on the comorbidities present.","journal":"Equine Veterinary Education","year":2025,"id":542930,"datarank":0.10397207708399181,"base_score":0.6931471805599453,"endowment":0.6931471805599453,"self_citation_contribution":0.10397207708399181,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.10397207708399181,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":22.178386323199504,"corpus_rank":9377,"citation_count":1,"citer_count":1,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":true,"is_dataset_confidence":0.5241,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2025-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":1432375,"name":"Rebecca C. Bishop","orcid":"0000-0002-9660-732X","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1432376,"name":"Scott M. Austin","orcid":"0009-0008-9196-6332","position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1432377,"name":"Jonathan H. Foreman","orcid":"0000-0002-9305-6120","position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1432378,"name":"Pamela A. Wilkins","orcid":"0000-0002-2946-3477","position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1432708,"name":"S. Rivera Maza","orcid":null,"position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":15,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-19T02:53:00.171379Z","pmid":"40810138","pmcid":"PMC12341383","fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}