| Summary: | The pathogenesis of steatitis that infrequently occurs in cold-stunned Kemp’s ridley sea turtles (KRT; <i>Lepidochelys kempii</i>) has been undetermined. The objectives of this study were to investigate the clinical (<i>n</i> = 23) and histologic findings (<i>n</i> = 11) in cold-stunned KRT, and to compare plasma concentrations of α-tocopherol (vitamin E), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and the TBARS to vitamin E (T/E) ratio (an assessment of oxidative stress) between cold-stunned KRT with clinically and/or histologically confirmed steatitis (<i>n</i> = 10) and free-ranging KRT (<i>n</i> = 9). None of the cold-stunned turtles had clinically detectable steatitis at admission, and the median number of days to diagnosis of steatitis was 71 (range 33–469). Histologic findings of affected adipose tissue included heterophilic (<i>n</i> = 9) and/or histiocytic (<i>n</i> = 5) steatitis, fat necrosis (<i>n</i> = 7), myonecrosis (<i>n</i> = 2), and intralesional bacteria (<i>n</i> = 6). Cold-stunned KRT had significantly lower plasma vitamin E concentrations (median = 3.5 nmol/g), lower plasma TBARS concentrations (median = 1.6 nmol/g), and higher T/E ratios (median = 0.37), than controls (208.8 nmol/g; 2.1 nmol/g; 0.01, respectively). These results suggest a multifactorial etiology for the development of steatitis in KRT during rehabilitation, including tissue injury, septicemia, and various factors resulting in imbalances of anti-/oxidative status. By highlighting the need to provide more effective vitamin E supplementation, and the need to re-assess specific components of the diet, this study may lead to reduced incidence and improved medical management of steatitis in cold-stunned sea turtles.
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