18. Clinical signs and diagnosis of the left sided abomasal displacement Flashcards
Left sided abomasum displacement positioning?
Left sided= displacement below and to the left
o E.g., goes under rumen and protrudes btw rumen and left thoracic part
Clinical signs of LDA?
Clinical signs of LDA
• Course
o Chronic! (Quite general clinical signs since it’s a chronic condition)
• General symptoms= atypic
o Nothing or “only” depression
o Weight loss
o Dehydration
• Basic clinical values
o T: normal
o P: normal
o R: normal
• Digestive symptoms
o Appetite: variable
o Rumen: small, firm, decreased motility
o Abomasum: not visible and not palpable (1:100)
o Faeces: thin pasty → viscous, diarrhoea (~20%) (ketosis is the cause?)
o Milk production: dropped (easily detectable)
Diagnosis of LDA?
Diagnosis
- No typical clinical signs since it’s a chronic problem
- Laboratory data:
o not practical?? Argument btw teachers here :D woman thinks it’s very practical since lab data are
real time nowadays, but man doesn’t because he thinks it takes too long to get the results (in the old
world)
• Targeted examinations of the abomasum= physical examination methods
Physical examination methods for diagnosis?
Physical examination methods for diagnosis
• Auscultation
o Tinkling sounds due to large fluid and some gas filled cavity where the fluid splashes around
o Sensitivity: 30,8%
o Specificity: 40,8%
• Auscultation with ballottement
o Place the stethoscope on the left side of the cow btw ribs and place your fist
under the abdominal wall
o Large fluid content in abomasum heard as a splashing sound on left side
o Sensitivity: 48,8%
o Specificity: 53,8%
• Auscultation with percussion!!!
o Place stethoscope in intercostal space and perform percussion with your other hand—> flick your
finger!
o Sound: Ping/Metallic sound like hitting a drum
o Sounds like hitting a drum or something= steel band effect
o Very good sensitivity: 97,7%–> enough to diagnose LDA together with other lab parameters!
o Specificity: 92,3%!!!
o Differential diagnosis of LDA with this method
§ Pneumoperitoneum
§ Free gas bloat or posterior functional stenosis (Hoflund)
§ LDA in the designated area
o Other diseases could also cause the ping sound but in different areas
Diagnosis of the Degree of LDA?
Diagnosis of the Degree of LDA
• Use the left flank and go down systematically along two lines; on top and one on the bottom- gas could be
located at different heights in the cow.
• !!!Floating LDA in 20% of cases
o Can periodically go back to place and float back—> ping test temporarily negative
• Perform auscultation with percussion immediately prior to treatment.
