title: Strategy for the treatment of puerperal metritis and improvement of reproductive efficiency in cows with retained placenta.
abstract: The objective of this study was to improve the reproductive efficiency of dairy cows with puerperal metritis (PM) subsequent to retained placenta (RP) using a two-step treatment strategy. A total of 188 postpartum cows, aged from 2 to 8 years, were utilised for 2 experiments. In Experiment 1, cows affected with RP/PM were randomly assigned to two treatment groups. Cows in Group A (n = 17) were treated with 600 mg of ceftiofur intramuscularly for 3 days followed by intrauterine lavage with 0.1% chlorhexidine and infusion with 0.5% povidoneiodine, while cows in Group B (n = 16) received two intrauterine infusions, first with 5 g of oxytetracycline and then with 0.5% povidone-iodine. Cows with normal postpartum findings were regarded as the healthy control group (n = 26). Ultrasonographic examination revealed that the ovarian activities including the appearance of a dominant follicle and days to first ovulation of the cows in Group A during the early postpartum period differed from those of Group B (P < 0.05), which coincided with the results of uterine swabbing for bacteriology. In Experiment 2, cows with normal postpartum findings were allocated to Group D (n = 78), which received an ovulation protocol (GnRH - 7 d PGF2α - 48 h hCG - 24 h AI) on day 50 ± 2 postpartum. Cows affected with PM were randomly divided into two groups, Group E (n = 25) combined the treatments applied in Groups A and D, while Group F (n = 26) repeated the treatment administered in Group E except for uterine lavage. The results indicated that the pregnancy rate within 150 days postpartum and the mean days open in Group E (76.0% and 106.3 ± 4.6 days, respectively) were significantly different from those in Group F (38.5% and 137.9 ± 10.9 days, respectively) (P < 0.05). This study suggests that reproductive efficiency could be improved by using the two-step treatment to regulate uterine involution and an early resumption of ovarian function in cows with RP/PM.
authors.affiliation: National Chung Hsing University Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources 250 Kuo-Kuang Rd. Taichung 40227 Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wen-Bor
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Shih-Te
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Chuang
authors.forename: Ching-Lin
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Shyu
authors.forename: Chao-Chin
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Amelia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jack
authors.forename: Huo-Cheng
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Peh
authors.forename: Jacky Peng-Wen
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D002511:Cephalosporins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004716:Endometritis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D018457:Placenta, Retained / Q000209:etiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011645:Puerperal Infection / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D012098:Reproduction / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D002511:Cephalosporins; C053503:ceftiofur