Adrenocortical insufficiency syndrome in endurance horse

Abstract

At last 5Km in the endurance competition a gelding (Australian Stock Horse) with 10-years-old showed poor performance and exhausted. On clinical examination the horse presented exhausted, depression, lethargy and anorexia. After start the treatment the horse death.  On necropsy showed multiples hemorrhages in the adrenal cortex and renal cortical with papillary necrosis, acute tubular necrosis. Histopathology showed: hemorrhages in adrenal cortex, capsule thickening and atrophy cortical with coagulation necrosis of zona glomerulosa, coagulation necrosis focal zona fasciculata, only congestion of the zona reticularis. In conclusion, we report a case of adrenocortical insufficiency syndrome in a resistance horse with rapid development of clinical signs, without response to emergency treatment, confirmed with laboratory, necropsy and histopathology results.