ArticleEquine veterinary journal2025
Comparison of radiography and computed tomography for identification of third metacarpal structural change and associated assessment of condylar stress fracture risk in Thoroughbred racehorses.
Article in Equine veterinary journal, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Correlation of 2D Linear and 3D Volumetric Measurement Techniques for Subchondral Bone Sclerosis in the Equine Distal Limb Using Standing Computed Tomography.Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology Association · 2026Article
- Lateromedial and oblique radiographs detect most fetlock pathologies as effectively as a full series in horses.Equine veterinary journal · 2026Article
- Gross and Histopathologic Comparison of the Distal Third Metacarpal Bone and the Proximal First Phalanx with Sodium Fluoride Positron Emission Tomography Radiopharmaceutical Uptake in Five Horses.Veterinary sciences · 2026Article
- Risk assessment for condylar stress fracture in elite racing Thoroughbreds using standing computed tomography-based virtual mechanical testing.Equine veterinary journal · 2026Article
- Objective, Longitudinal Computed Tomographic Evaluation of the Metacarpal Condyles in Non-Lame Thoroughbred Racehorses.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Tuning and validation of a virtual mechanical testing pipeline for condylar stress fracture risk assessment in Thoroughbred racehorses.Royal Society open science · 2025Article
- Comparison of radiography and computed tomography for identification of third metacarpal structural change and associated assessment of condylar stress fracture risk in Thoroughbred racehorses.Equine veterinary journal · 2025Article
- Linkage of jockey falls and injuries with racehorse injuries and fatalities in Thoroughbred flat racing in Victoria, Australia.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2024Article
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12 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundCatastrophic injury has a low incidence but leads to the death of many Thoroughbred racehorses.
objectivesTo determine sensitivity, specificity, and reliability for third metacarpal condylar stress fracture risk assessment from digital radiographs (DR) and standing computed tomography (sCT). STUDY
designControlled ex vivo experiment.
methodsA blinded set of metacarpophalangeal joint DR and sCT images were prepared from 31 Thoroughbreds. Four observers evaluated the condyles and parasagittal grooves (PSG) of the third metacarpal bone for the extent of dense bone and lucency/fissure and assigned a risk assessment grade for condylar stress fracture based on imaging features. Sensitivity and specificity for detection of subchondral structural changes in the condyles and PSG, and for risk assessment for condylar stress fracture were determined by comparison with a reference assessment based on sCT and joint surface examination. Agreement between observers and the reference assessment and reliability between observers were determined. Intra-observer repeatability was also assessed.
resultsSensitivity for detection of structural change was lower than specificity for both imaging methods and all observers. For agreement with the reference assessment of structural change, correlation coefficients were generally below 0.5 for DR and 0.49-0.82 for sCT. For horses categorised as normal risk on reference assessment, observer assessment often agreed with the reference. Sensitivity for risk assessment was lower than specificity for all observers. For horses with a reference assessment of high risk of injury, observers generally underestimated risk. Diagnostic sensitivity of risk assessment was improved with sCT imaging, particularly for horses categorised as having elevated risk of injury from the reference assessment. Assessment repeatability and reliability was better with sCT than DR. MAIN LIMITATIONS: The ex vivo study design influenced DR image sets.
conclusionsRisk assessment through screening with diagnostic imaging is a promising approach to improve injury prevention in racing Thoroughbreds. Knowledge of sensitivity and specificity of fetlock lesion detection provides the critical guidance needed to improve racehorse screening programs. We found improved detection of MC3 subchondral structural change and risk assessment for condylar stress fracture with sCT ex vivo.
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