Management of injection site abscess in different horse (Equus ferus caballus) breeds using a potassium permanganate cauterization protocol

Publication Details

Publication Date

10/07/2026

Volume / Issue

Vol 1, Issue 2 (2026)

Article No.

022

Journal

British Journal of Contemporary Research

Received

27 Jun 2026

Views

21

Downloads

5

Abstract

Injection abscess occurs in horses occurs when injections are carried out under septic conditions and affects the market value, performance and quality of life in horses. Conventional method of abscess management in Nigeria involves surgical drainage, chemical debridement, packing the dead space with gauze, fly repellent and use of systemic antibiotics for 3 to 5 days with variable number of days for healing depending on duration of the abscess, complications and veterinarian’s experience. The burden of antimicrobial resistance in animals and humans has necessitated the medical community to cut down the use of antibiotics to when absolutely necessary, following antimicrobial culture and sensitivity test. The authors devised a simpler and less expensive method of equine injection abscess management protocol devoid of antibiotics, using potassium permanganate (PP). A total of 7 clinical cases of equine injection abscess were managed by lancing, flushing and chemo-cautery using PP followed by application of fly repellent. Seven (7) other cases were managed using the conventional method for comparison. Pus and blood samples were taken to the microbiology and chemical pathology laboratories of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital Kano for microbial culture and haemato-biochemical analyses respectively. Analysis of the average cost of treatment based on the number and price of consumables, average total time required for each dressing session, mean healing time was carried out. Results The incisional sites in the PP group healed within 11.71 ± 0.71 days with minimal post-surgical complications that included localized swelling at the incision site 24 hours post operation which resolved with the use of diclofenac injection. The conventional protocol group healed in 17.00 ± 1.00 days with a significantly greater need for post-treatment visits leading to a higher overall treatment cost. Conclusions Injection abscess management using the potassium permanganate protocol offered a simpler, less expensive, less time-consuming and faster healing method that eliminated the use of antibiotics.

License

This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License . Free to read, share, and adapt with attribution.