Sand enteropathy is an important disease condition in the horse, particularly in geographically predisposed regions. The reasons why some horses eat sand, or why some horses accumulate sand when exposed and others do not are poorly understood. Weak evidence exists that deficiencies in iron or copper may play a role in geophagia, while factors such as the provision of supplemental feeding while at pasture, or the role of an individual animal within a herd hierarchy, may influence an individual animals’ disease risk. Diagnosis in the field is challenging. Current evidence does not support the use of the faecal glove sedimentation test for screening horses at risk of sand accumulation as it lacks both the sensitivity and specificity to accurately diagnose sand accumulation under field conditions. Instead, ultrasound is a useful screening test under field conditions, especially in ruling out sand accumulation. In contrast, ultrasound appears to be of limited value in the assessment of sand accumulations in acute disease and radiography remains the reference standard for diagnosis. Current evidence does not support the feeding of psyllium for the removal of sand accumulation. Instead, daily administration of psyllium and MgSO₄, both at 1 g/kg bwt once a day via nasogastric tube, has been reported to be effective in removing the majority of sand accumulations over a 3–7 day period in a number of studies. Prevention remains challenging in horses at risk due to ongoing exposure to sandy pastures but, based on epidemiological evidence, small management changes may be beneficial in reducing disease risk.

中文翻译：

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马沙肠病的诊治

沙肠病是马的一种重要疾病状态，特别是在地理易感地区。有些马吃沙子的原因，或者为什么有些马在暴露时会积沙而其他马不吃沙子的原因却鲜为人知。存在弱证据表明铁或铜的缺乏可能在食土动物中发挥作用，而诸如在牧场提供补充饲料或个体动物在畜群等级中的作用等因素可能会影响个体动物的疾病风险。现场诊断具有挑战性。目前的证据不支持使用粪便手套沉降试验来筛查有积沙风险的马匹，因为它缺乏在野外条件下准确诊断积沙的敏感性和特异性。反而，超声波在野外条件下是一种有用的筛选测试，尤其是在排除沙子堆积方面。相比之下，超声在评估急性疾病中的沙粒堆积方面似乎价值有限，而放射线照相术仍然是诊断的参考标准。目前的证据不支持为去除沙子堆积而喂食车前草。取而代之的是，每天服用欧车前和 MgSO₄，每天一次通过鼻胃管以 1 g/kg bwt 的剂量，据报道，在许多研究中，在 3-7 天的时间内可有效去除大部分沙子堆积。由于持续接触沙草场，对处于危险中的马进行预防仍然具有挑战性，但根据流行病学证据，小的管理变化可能有助于降低疾病风险。