Intrauterine therapies in mares – a clinically applicable review

Abstract

Intrauterine infusions in mares are commonly used by veterinarians to treat a variety of conditions. The intrauterine route offers some advantages over systemic treatments such as the ability to achieve higher concentration of drugs or compounds than is possible through systemic administration, the ability to use potentially toxic substances such as disinfectants, and allow direct contact of the compound to the endometrium. Conversely, the disadvantages of intrauterine infusions include the risk of irritation, contamination, poor retention, and deactivation by uterine content. The choice to include intrauterine infusions can be complicated by the increasing number of compounds and products that have been proposed. This paper summarizes some of the established groups of compounds used as intrauterine treatments and discusses emerging compounds that have been proposed but not yet used in routine practice.