Diagnosing and treating esophageal obstruction in camels (Camelus dromedarius)

Vet World Vol.16 April-2023 Article-10

Research Article

Veterinary World, 16(4): 735-742

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2023.735-742

Madeh Sadan^1,2, Sabry El-Khodery³, Saleh Almatroodi⁴, Fahd Alsobayil¹, and El-Sayed El-Shafaey^1,5

1. Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Qassim University, Qassim, P.O. Box 51452, Saudi Arabia.
2. Department of Surgery, Anesthesiology, and Radiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, South Valley University, Qena 83523, Egypt.
3. Department of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt.
4. Department of Medical Laboratories, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Qassim University, Qassim, P.O Box 51452, Saudi Arabia.
5. Department of Surgery, Anesthesiology, and Radiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt.

Background and Aim: Esophageal obstruction is a common occurrence and a serious condition in camels. This study aimed to assess the effects of mineral deficiency on esophageal obstruction rates in dromedary camels and describe their clinical presentation and treatment outcomes.

Materials and Methods: Twenty-eight camels were allocated to two groups. Group 1 (control) was composed of 10 sound camels. Group 2 included 18 camels with esophageal obstruction which were based on clinical and imaging evaluations. Hematobiochemical examinations in control and affected camels were compared and statistically analyzed.

Results: In camels with esophageal obstruction when compared with controls, hematological analyses showed significant increases (p < 0.05) in neutrophils, lymphocytes, and monocytes, along with significantly decreased total white blood counts. Aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, creatine phosphokinase, glucose, albumin, creatinine, and blood urea nitrogen concentrations were significantly higher in affected camels when compared with controls. Furthermore, gamma-glutamyl transferase, globulin, sodium, chloride, cobalt, iron, manganese, and selenium concentrations were significantly reduced. Affected camels were treated by stomach tube or surgery and were completely recovered, except for one camel with an esophageal fistula.

Conclusion: A lack of trace elements could have a significant role in esophageal obstruction in dromedaries. Clinical, ultrasonographic, and hematobiochemical evaluations are useful for the accurate diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of esophageal obstruction in camels. Keywords: animals, diagnostic imaging, esophagus, fistula, pathology.

Keywords: animals, diagnostic imaging, esophagus, fistula, pathology.

How to cite this article: Sadan M, El-Khodery S, Almatroodi S, Alsobayil F, and El-Shafaey E (2023) Diagnosing and treating esophageal obstruction in camels (

Received: 25-12-2022 Accepted: 15-02-2023 Published online: 13-04-2023

Corresponding author: E-mail: sayedelshafaey@yahoo.com

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2023.735-742

Copyright: Sadan, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.