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- Author or Editor: Bruce L. Hull x
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Summary
A mixed population of 11 cattle (7 dairy, 4 beef; 9 male, 2 female) were examined because of acute onset of non-weightbearing hind limb lameness. Radiography revealed slipped capital femoral epiphyseal fracture in all cattle, with the exception of one large bull. Ten of the 11 cattle were treated with open reduction and internal fixation, using intramedullary pins. Cattle affected with slipped capital femoral epiphyseal fracture in previous reports typically have been calves that required forced extraction during dystocia. Cattle in this report were in the following 2 age groups in which trauma was the likely cause: 3 to 5 months and 1.5 to 2.3 years. Follow-up information was provided for 7 of the 10 cattle. Four of the 7 were functional and had no clinical signs of arthritis, abnormal gait, atrophy, scarring, contralateral compensation, breakdown, or other difficulty 6 months after surgical correction. If early diagnosis is achieved, it appears that reduction with intramedullary pinning can provide a good long-term prognosis in cattle when function as breeding animals is important to their future value.
Summary
Medical records of 35 cattle with small-intestinal volvulus were reviewed. Surgical correction was performed on 32 cattle, and 17 of these cattle were discharged from the hospital. Mean duration of clinical signs for survivors was not significantly different from that for nonsurvivors, and the most commonly recorded clinical signs were abdominal pain, anorexia, lethargy, abdominal distention, and dehydration. Physical examination of cattle with intestinal volvulus revealed tachycardia, tachypnea, and nor-mothermia. Rectal examination findings included distended small intestine, scant feces or mucus, and tight bands coursing dorsoventrally in the middle portion of the abdomen. Clinicopathologjc testingre-vealed azotemia, hypocalcemia, hyperglycemia, and leukocytosis with a left shift. Nonsurvivors had significantly lower mean preoperative venous blood phi and mean base excess and higher mean serum potassium concentration than did survivors.
A diagnosis of volvulus of the entire small intestine was made during surgery in 25 cattle, whereas volvulus of the distal jejunum and ileum was diagnosed during surgery in 7 cattle. Survival rate following surgical correction of volvulus of the entire small intestine (44%) was not significantly different from survival rate following surgical correction of volvulus of the distal jejunum and ileum (86%). However, survival rate for dairy cattle (63%) was significantly higher than survival rate for beef cattle (22%).
To determine potential risk factors for the development of small-intestinal volvulus, epidemiologic data from cattle admitted to veterinary teaching hospitals throughout North America were collected by searching records entered into the Veterinary Medical Data Base. Between 1967 and 1991, 190 of 242,745 cattle had small-intestinal volvulus. Surgical correction was performed in 130 cattle, and 75 cattle were discharged from the hospital Among cattle seen at veterinary teaching hospitals, dairy cattle had an increased risk of developing small-intestinal volvulus, compared with beef cattle, and cattle > 7 years old had a decreased risk, compared with cattle < 2 months old. Female cattle were more likely to suffer from intestinal volvulus than were male cattle.
Summary
Medical records of 12 calves ≤1 month old, with fracture of the femoral diaphysis, were reviewed. Ten calves were within 1 week of birth at the time of diagnosis. Open reduction was accomplished by use of a lateral approach. Retrograde intramedullary pinning was accomplished in all calves, using 2 (n = 4 calves) or 3 (n = 8 calves) pins. Cerclage wire was used to supplement fixation in 7 calves. A closed continuous suction drain was placed along the lateral aspect of the femur in every calf.
Postsurgical complications included seroma formation over the middle gluteal musculature (n = 5 calves), pin migration (n = 6 calves), and osteomyelitis (n = 1 calf). Pin migration was observed in 4 calves that had been treated with nonthreaded trochar point pins.
Fractures in 10 of 12 calves (83%) were considered to have healed satisfactorily. One calf was euthanatized because of septic osteomyelitis of the femur. One calf was euthanatized because of persistent lameness and pin migration. Pins were removed in 8 of 12 calves (67%) between the 13th and 90th postoperative days. Results of this study indicate that application of intramedullary pins may be a useful solution for management of femoral diaphyseal fracture in young calves.
Summary
The abomasal luminal pressure was determined during surgery in 54 dairy cows with abomasal volvulus (av) and another 50 dairy cows with left displaced abomasum. The luminal pressure was high in all cattle with av and 49 (98%) cattle with left displaced abomasum. Luminal pressure was significantly higher in cattle with av (median, 11.7 mm of Hg; range, 4.1 to 32.4 mm of Hg) than cattle with left displaced abomasum (median, 8.7 mm of Hg; range, 3.5 to 20.7 mm of Hg). Among cattle with av, abomasal luminal pressure was significantly higher in cattle that died or were sold for slaughter following surgery (median, 20.6 mm of Hg; n = 8) than in cattle that were retained in the herd (median, 11.0 mm of Hg; n = 46). The luminal pressure was weakly correlated with the preoperative serum alkaline phosphatase activity but not correlated with duration of inappetence before surgery. Calculation of likelihood ratios and construction of a response operating characteristic curve for cattle with av indicated that a cutoff value of 16 mm of Hg for luminal pressure optimized the distribution of cattle into productive and nonproductive groups. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of a luminal pressure < 16 mm of Hg in predicting a productive outcome were 0.83, 0.75, 0.95, and 0.43, respectively.
Summary
A prospective study evaluating the prognostic value of surgical and postoperative findings in 80 cattle with abomasal volvulus was performed. Surgical correction of abomasal volvulus was performed in all animals. After surgery, cattle were categorized into 3 groups: productive (acceptable milk production or appetite, n = 59), salvaged (poor milk production or appetite, n = 10), and nonsurvivors (n = 11). Cattle with omasal-abomasal volvulus had a significantly (P < 0.005) worse prognosis than cattle without omasal involvement. Large abomasal fluid volume, venous thrombosis, and blue or black abomasal color before decompression were all indicative of a poor prognosis. Most cattle had poor or fair appetites the first day after surgery; productive animals had marked improvement in appetite over the next 3 days. All cattle observed to have a good appetite within 3 days after surgery were later determined to be productive animals. The heart rate decreased in all groups after surgery; however, tachycardia (heart rate > 80 beats/ min) was sustained in cattle that were later salvaged for slaughter. Diarrhea was observed after surgery in 54% of cattle. The duration of diarrhea was significantly shorter (P = 0.009) in productive cattle than in salvaged and nonsurviving cattle. The presence or absence of diarrhea was only of predictive value when considered in conjunction with the estimated abomasal fluid volume.
Summary
A hospital-based case-control study was conducted to evaluate and compare risk factors for abomasal volvulus (av) and left displaced abomasum (lda) in cattle. Medical record abstracts were derived from 17 North American veterinary schools by the Veterinary Medical Data Program for all cattle admitted between Jan 1, 1977 and Dec 31, 1986, and for those with a diagnosis of av or lda. From a total of 108,956 individual cattle records, 1,036 cases of av and 7,695 cases of lda were identified, with a ratio of LDA to AV cases of 7.4 to 1. In-hospital mortality was 23.5% for av and 5.6% for lda.
Age, breed, gender, and season each had significant (P < 0.05) effects on risk for av and lda. Risk for av and lda increased with increasing age, with greater risk in cattle aged 4 to 7 years. Dairy cattle were at higher risk of developing av (adjusted odds ratio, 36.4) and lda (adjusted odds ratio, 95.2) than were beef cattle. The odds of AV in Brown Swiss cattle were significantly (P < 0.0001) lower, and the odds of lda in Guernsey cattle were significantly (P < 0.0001) higher than those in Holstein cattle. Female cattle were also at higher risk of developing av (adjusted odds ratio, 3.3) and lda (adjusted odds ratio, 29.1) than were male cattle. The odds of av and LDA varied considerably throughout the year, with the lowest number of cases observed in autumn. Seasonal development of AV differed significantly (P < 0.0001) from that of LDA, with the odds of av and lda being highest in January and March, respectively.
The medical records for all cattle with av and lda examined at the teaching hospital over a 10- and 5-year period, respectively, were reviewed, and the time interval since parturition, as well as the existence and nature of concurrent disease, were recorded. Proportionately fewer cases of av than lda developed during the first 2 weeks after parturition (28.3% of av cases vs. 57.0% of lda cases). Concurrent disease existed in 30.4% of av cases and 53.6% of LDA cases, with the rates of concurrent disease differing significantly (P < 0.0001) between the 2 groups. The mis-classification rate for data generated at the teaching hospital was estimated to be 6.5% for av and 5.3% for lda.
On the basis of the findings of this study, we hypothesize that: abomasal atony is a prerequisite for av and lda; existence of an abdominal void immediately after parturition facilitates development of AV and lda; normal rumen volume provides a moderately effective barrier against lda; risk of lda does not increase appreciably with advancing pregnancy; and the direction of abomasal displacement (av or lda) after abomasal atony and dilation is influenced principally by rumen volume.
Summary
A prospective study evaluating preoperative prognostic indicators in 80 cattle with abomasal volvulus was done. Surgical correction of the abomasal volvulus was performed in all animals. After surgery, cattle were categorized into 3 groups: productive (acceptable milk production or appetite, n = 59), salvaged (poor milk production or appetite, n = 10), and nonsurvivors (n = 11). Mean values for study variables did not differ significantly between salvaged and nonsurvivor groups. Cattle in these 2 groups were combined to form a nonproductive group, which was compared with the productive group. Productive cattle had a significantly lower preoperative heart rate than nonproductive cattle, were less dehydrated, had lower serum alkaline phosphatase (alp) activity and serum creatinine concentration, more frequent rumen contractions, higher serum Na+ and Cl− concentrations, and had been inappetent for a shorter period. Significant differences were not detected in blood pH, base excess, anion gap, pcv, and serum K+ concentrations between the 2 groups. Feces from nonproductive cattle tended to be reduced in volume and were significantly darker.
A number of preoperative prognostic indices were evaluated by calculating the sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value (+pv) of each variable and by using logistic regression. Positive predictive values were generally higher in identifying productive cattle than nonproductive cattle. High +pv for productive animals were observed for cattle with normal hydration status (+pv, 0.96), serum creatinine concentration ≤ 1.5 mg/dl (+pv, 0.91), serum alp activity ≤ 100 IU/L (+pv, 0.90), serum Cl concentration ≥ 95 mEq/L (+pv, 0.90), and heart rate ≤ 80 beats/min (+pv, 0.88). Positive predictive values for nonproductive animals exceeded 0.50 only in cattle with heart rates ≥ 120 (+pv, 0.67) or ≥ 100 beats/min (+pv, 0.56), serum alp activity > 100 IU/L (+pv, 0.55), or ≥ 6% dehydration (+pv, 0.52). Anion gap ≥ 30 mEq/L was a poor prognostic indicator (+pv, 0.33). Logistic regression was used to identify 4 variables (hydration status, heart rate, period of inappetence, and serum alp activity) that had good predictive value. Preoperative determination of heart rate, hydration status, and period of inappetence appears superior to routinely used laboratory tests in determining the prognosis of cattle with abomasal volvulus. The cause of the high serum alp activity in nonproductive cattle needs to be determined.
Abstract
Case Description—An 11-year-old 72-kg (158-lb) sexually intact female alpaca was examined for diagnosis and treatment of hematuria of 4 months' duration.
Clinical Findings—Pigmenturia was detected by the owner when the alpaca was 8 months pregnant. Radiographic, ultrasonographic, vaginal speculum, and cystoscopic evaluation of the urinary tract revealed normal vaginal and urethral epithelia and increased bladder vessel tortuosity, with pulses of hemorrhage from the left ureter. Regenerative anemia and mild leukopenia were detected and serum urea nitrogen and creatinine concentrations were within reference ranges.
Treatment and Outcome—Chronic hematuria resolved after unilateral nephrectomy of the left kidney, and no dysfunction was detected in the remaining kidney. Histologic evaluation of the kidney revealed a transitional cell tumor in the renal pelvis.
Clinical Relevance—Although anemia is common in South American camelids, hematuria is an uncommon sign of this condition. Chronic urinary tract infection, toxin ingestion, and neoplasia causing hematuria or hemoglobinuria should be considered in South American camelids with pigmenturia. Thorough and systematic evaluation of the urinary tract should be performed to locate the site of hemorrhage to treat hematuria appropriately.
