Topical Use of Polaprezinc in Horses’ Wounds: a Clinical Study

Abstract

Traumatic wounds account for a large portion of the caseload of an equine practitioner. Any mechanism that accelerates the speed of wound healing would have a significant impact in horses’ world. Polaprezinc (PZ) is a complex of L-carnosine and zinc, it has been proven to be very effective for the repairing process of the mucosa in many human’s conditions such as gastric ulcers, ulcerative colitis and hemorrhoids. We conducted a randomized prospective study with the aim to evaluate the wound healing activity of Polaprezinc (PZ) in equine patients, applying the molecule topically on the wounds. Seventeen horses suffering from traumatized wounds were included in this study. Horses were randomly divided in two groups: horses treated with PZ, 11 animals, and horses treated with povidone iodine gel, 6 animals. The majority of wounds included in the study were located on limbs. Wounds were assessed on the basis of healing time, that was defined as time interval from first dressing to patient’s discharge. The Mann-Whitney U Test was used to compare the results of both groups. Fisher's exact test was used to evaluate whether the onset of exuberant granulation tissue could have statistical significance between the two groups.  The mean healing time was consistently reduced in treated horses leading to a faster resumption of the animal's activity; the reduced number of cases led to a low significance of EGT onset in treated group, while clinically a predisposition was noted among treated cases. The local treatment with PZ on skin wounds of the horse proved to be effective and safe and represents an excellent alternative to the methods traditionally used for the dressing of lesions that must undergo repair by second intention. The molecule seems to be particularly suitable to aid the healing process of large wounds with consistent loss of tissue, where the production of an important amount of granulation tissue is necessary.