Calf Acute Abdomen Flashcards
in calves in the first week of life, where does most digestion occur?
in the abomasum, and then once the calf is a few months old, it switches over to the rumen as it slowly develops
what is the only way to stimulate the esophageal groove to close?
suckling!
what kinds of feed stimulate the rumen papillae to develop?
milk: no development
milk + hay: some development
milk + starter (grain): optimal development
aka you need them grains boo
on ultrasound, can you see the reticulum and the omasum in calves? how about the rumen and abomasum?
reticulum moves around a lot and if a calf just ate you might not be able to see it
the omasum is rarely seen in the first 2 weeks fo life
the rumen can be seen but will be full of gas so you wont be able to see anything.
the abomasum is seen and may show hyperechoic stippling from clotted milk
what are some clinical signs of a calf with an acute abdomen?
kicking at belly, lying down then standing up, looking at flank, bloated shape, fever, tachycardia, hyperventilation
you’re doing auscultation and succussion on a calf with colic and you get a positive succussion. What does this mean?
I need to ask when the calf last drank milk because it could be a normal succussion from the milk. If the calf didn’t drink milk recently, then I would be concerned about fluid somewhere
in calves, what causes each of the acid base abnormalities? met acid, met alk, resp acid, resp alk
met acid: diarrhea
met alk: displaced abomasum or obstruction
resp acid: aspiration pneumonia/pneumonia
resp alk: hyperventilation, hypoxemia
list differentials for colic in calves less than 8 days old
atresia coli, atresia recti/ani, intussesception, peracute enteritis, acute diffuse peritonitis, omphalophlebitis, mesenteric torsion
list differentials for colic in calves more than 8 days old
abdominal dilation, abdominal torsion, typmany (bloat), perforating ulcer, mesenteric torsion, enteritis
what is atresia coli
complete absence of an intestinal lumen at the spiral colon caused by a vascular insufficiency
what is atresia ani/recti
when the urorectal folds fail to divide the cloaca
you go see a calf at a dairy farm and the calf seemed completely normal at birth, but lost it’s appetite after 12 hours and did not pass any meconium. When you examine the calf, you can see white mucus at the rectum. top differential? prognosis?
atresia coli/recti/ani
if it’s atresia coli, humane euthanasia is best option
if atresia recti/ani–>can surgically correct and give them a butthole and this is a much better prognosis
what are some reasons why calves get bloat?
trichobezoars, rumenitis, chronic rumen acidosis, rumen putrefaction, failure of esophageal groove closure, severe pneumonia (air gulping and damage to the vagus nerve), juvenile lymphosarcoma
you go out to see a calf with colic: it appears bloated, is depressed, is grinding it’s teeth, and is hypersalivating. Succussion is positive. Top differential? how will you treat this calf?
abomasitis and enteritis caused by one of the following:
trichobzoars, mineral deficinecy, C perfringens type A, sarcinia spp
treatment: avoid feeding milk or anything orally, place an NG tube to relieve bloat, oral penicillin, IV fluids, NSAIDs for pain, pantoprazole
what are the 4 types of abomasal ulcers?
type 1: erosion of mucosa not involving basement membrane
type 2: non perforating with severe hemorrhage=melena
type 3: perforating localized ulcer
type 4: perforating severe diffuse ulcer
a producer asks you what some risk factors are for abomasal ulcers in calves because he wants to work to prevent them in the future. you tell him…
trace mineral deficiencies, bacterial agents like C/ perfringens, stress, abrasive agents like hairballs, LDAs
you go see a calf that has ventral abdominal distension, seems bloated, and is painful on abdominal palpation. When examining the feces, you note melena. What is your top differential and what history question do you want to ask the producer?
i suspect abomasal ulcers
I want to ask if the calf recently had a DA because 70& of cows with a perforated gastric ulcer had DAs previously
the producer that has the calf with the abomasal ulcer asks about the prognosis for this calf. you say…
surgery has a guarded to poor prognosis, but we can try pantoprazole, randitidine or cimetidine
what is a “ruminal drinker”? Why is this a problem?
NOT a cow alcoholic, but failure of closure of the esophageal groove in a wittle baby calf insert cute emoji here
this is a problem because all the milk goes into the rumen instead of the abomasum and creates bacterial fermentation. The bacteria produce lactate, leading to ruminal and metabolic acidosis=hyperkeratotic parakeratosis and reticulorumenitis
you go out to see a calf with reoccurring bloat, seems under conditioned and has a poor hair coat despite eating well, is depressed and dehydrated, and it has an arched back. What do you want to investigate immediately?
sounds like a ruminal drinker. I would suggest feeding smaller meals, only feed with nipples and not buckets, give the calf some bicarbonate, and consider weaning the calf a little earlier.
how many umbillical veins and umbillical arteries are there, and which one(s) carry oxygenated blood?
there are two umbillical arteries
there are two umbillical veins at first that then merge to form one umbillical vein
umbillical vein carry oxygenated blood from the heart to the baby, and the umbillical arteries carry deoxygenated blood from the fetus back to the mom to be oxygenated
a normal navel looks like…
a dry little stalk for a week or 2
should be dry within 48 hours or birth
what is one way you can tell if the umbillical stump is too big?
ultrasound
your friend who is new to farming cattle calls you to tell you that the newest heifer on the farm just gave birth. Everything with the birth went well, but he has no idea what to do with the “umbillical cord” and is wondering if he needs to clean it. What do you tell him?
use an iodine product to desiccate and disinfect the navel in the form of a dip, and dip it only once. Make sure the dip is clean!
if you see a calf with a mass in the umbillical area, what are things you need to know about the mass to narrow down a differential?
is it painful? hot? hard? reduceable? is there discharge coming out of it? is it coming from the umbillical stalk or the abdomen?
what is umbillical eventration and how do you decide prognosis?
when the intestines prolapase through the umbillicus
prognosis is okay if t’s caught early and the intestines are not compromised–>stuff it back in like a sleeping bag, lavage it, and suture it closed!
prognosis is poor if the intestines rupture or if theres ischemic necrosis of the intestines
how should you score navels for umbillical infection?
score 0=no signs of heat, pain, swelling, or discharge
score 1= slightly enlarged, not warm or painful
score 2=slightly enlarged, slight pain, moisture
score 3=enlarged, painful, heat, discharge
describe the difference between these terms:
omphalitis, omphalophlebitis, omphaloarteritis, urachitis
omphalitis: infection of the umbillical structures outside the body wall
omphalophlebitis: infection of umbillical vein
omphaloarteritis: infection of the umbillical artery
urachitis: infection of the urachus
umbillical infections are usually associated with what pathogens? what are some risk factors?
E coli and T pyogenes
failure of transfer passive immunity, contaminated environments, and poor navel care like not dipping can all increase risk
you are presented with a calf with a swollen, hot, painful umbillicus with some discharge. how will you treat this? if there was an abscess, would your treatment change?
ampicillin or penicillin for 5 days
with an abscess, lance and drain, flush with disinfectant, and then go on antibiotics
the most common congenital disease of cattle is
hernias
can you fix umbillical hernias in the field?
if theyre less than 10cm and if the calf is less than 6 months old you can. If theyre larger in older calves it’s a much bigger problem
what are some options for non surgical hernia repair?
an elastic band lookin thingy? or a bandage
when doing a surgical umbillical repair, what are your options for sedation
diazepam for young calves
xylazine, butorphanol, ketamine for older calves
local block with lidocaine
sacrococcygeal epidural with xylazine and lidocaine
briefly describe the surgical procedure for correcting umcomplicated umbillical hernias
make an elipitcal incision around the umbillicus, blunt and sharp dissect to expose the rectus abdominus muscle, blunt dissect through the peritoneum and explore the abdomen for adhesions or infected tissue. Freshen any edges of the hernia with mayo scissors. Close the muscle layer with a tension holding suture, close the subQ layer with simple continuous, and then close the skin with ford interlocking (non absorbable)
what kind of post op care is needed after surgical correction of an umbillical hernia?
NSAIDs, antibiotics, belly bandage, restricted movement, and gradually re introduce forage for a few days.
monitor for hematomas, abscesses, or re-herniation
