The application of electrocecography for evaluation of cecum motility in horses.

Electrogastrography (EGG), in which the electrical activity of the smooth muscular layer of the stomach is recorded percutaneously through the abdominal wall, has been applied in recent years to humans as a non-invasive method. In acute abdominal disease in horses, it is considered diagnostically useful to analyze digestive activity using EGG. Electrocecography (ECG) was examined to determine its effectiveness in evaluating equine digestive motility through comparison, after xylazine administration, between the results of the percutaneous ECG method and the results obtained using a strain-gauge force transducer (Force Transducer) chronically attached to the serous membrane of the cecum. As subjects, the test used six male thoroughbreds (average weight: 457.5 +/- 9.2 kg). The test showed a reduction in both the percutaneous electrical potential of the cecum in ECG and in cecal contractions measured with the Force Transducer. After xylazine administration, an average rates of decrease of the amplitude from the control period were 17.8 +/- 3.4% and 20.0 +/- 4.6% respectively, demonstrating a significant correlation (r = 0.90) between the two methods. On the other hand, power distribution centered around 6 cycles per minute in a Fourier transform (FFT) analysis of ECG, thought similar to the contraction frequency of 5.4 +/- 3.0 per minute observed with the Force Transducer. After xylazine administration, the total frequency band (1.8-12 cycle per min) in the running spectrum total power in ECG decreased to 37.0 +/- 5.1% of the pre-xylazine value. Based on these findings, it appears that the ECG potential reflected electrical activity of cecal origin, suggesting high clinical applicability of ECG to the percutaneous evaluation of equine cecal motility.