Neonatal encephalopathy complicated with septic arthritis in a foal

A 2-day-old Thoroughbred foal weighing 58 kg was admitted to the Equine Hospital of Korea Racing Authority (KRA) Jeju Stud Farm with clinical signs including loss of suckling behavior and barking. Neonatal encephalopathy (NE) was diagnosed based on history and typical clinical signs of NE. The foal seemed to recover in 5 days of intensive care and treatment but then was complicated with the septic arthritis of left hock joint on the 6th day of admission. A course of aggressive systemic antimicrobial therapy with joint lavage for 8 days was conducted and the foal was fully recovered and discharged. The follow up on the patient after 2 years revealed that the patient achieved a great success as a racehorse without any unexpected sequel. This report describes a course of NE complicated with septic arthritis in a foal and the clinical outcome of the intensive care and treatment in detail. To our knowledge, this is the first report which describes NE complicated with septic arthritis in a foal in Republic of Korea.