Evaluation of flunixin meglumine as an adjunct treatment for diarrhea in dairy calves.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the use of flunixin meglumine as an adjunct treatment for diarrhea in calves.


METHODS
Clinical trial.


METHODS
115 calves with diarrhea that were 1 to 21 days old at enrollment.


METHODS
Calves that developed diarrhea were randomly assigned to receive no flunixin meglumine (controls), a single dose of flunixin meglumine (2.2 mg/kg [1.0 mg/lb]), or 2 doses of flunixin meglumine administered 24 hours apart. Serum IgG concentration and PCV were measured prior to enrollment in the trial. Calves were evaluated daily to determine rectal temperature, fecal consistency, demeanor, and skin elasticity score. The primary analytic outcome was days of sickness (morbid-days).


RESULTS
Calves with fecal blood and treated with a single dose of flunixin meglumine had fewer morbid-days and antimicrobial treatments, compared with controls. Although not significant, calves given 2 doses of flunixin meglumine in 24 hours had fewer morbid-days than untreated control calves. Regardless of severity of diarrhea, calves without fecal blood did not benefit from the use of flunixin. For calves with fecal blood, failure of passive transfer (low serum IgG concentration) was an independent risk factor for increased morbid-days.


CONCLUSIONS
Treatment with a single dose of flunixin meglumine resulted in fewer antimicrobial treatments and morbid-days in calves with fecal blood. As observed in other studies, calves with failure of passive transfer were at high risk for poor outcomes. This emphasizes the importance of developing and implementing effective colostrum delivery programs on dairy farms.
Barnett
Staci C
SC
Department of Population Health and Reproduction, Veterinary Medicine Teaching and Research Center, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Tulare, CA 93274, USA.
Sischo
William M
WM
Moore
Dale A
DA
Reynolds
James P
JP
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000401:mortality; D003002:Clonixin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000662:veterinary*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D007112:Immunity, Maternally-Acquired; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D009780:Occult Blood; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; C014558:flunixin meglumine; D003002:Clonixin