Sequential measurement of serum amyloid A concentrations in ill hospitalized neonatal foals.

Sequential SAA measurements aid severity assessment and prognosis in ill neonatal foals.

This retrospective study evaluated serum amyloid A (SAA) concentrations in 90 hospitalized neonatal foals (≤14 days old) at multiple timepoints to assess its clinical utility. Foals were stratified by systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) status, blood culture results, and survival outcomes. SAA concentrations were significantly elevated in SIRS-positive foals compared to non-SIRS foals on admission and day 1. By day 2, foals with positive blood cultures demonstrated substantially higher SAA levels than culture-negative foals. Non-surviving foals exhibited elevated SAA on day 1 compared to survivors. The findings demonstrate that sequential SAA measurements during hospitalization reflect disease severity and treatment response, providing prognostic value in neonatal foals. The authors conclude that repeated SAA measurements can assist clinicians in assessing disease severity and predicting outcomes in critically ill neonatal foals, supporting its incorporation into clinical decision-making protocols for this population.

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