Principles of Diagnostics Flashcards
What are the components of both a herd and individual diagnostic plan?
History, Signalment, Physical, Rule outs, treatment plan, follow-up
What do you have to do differently on a herd basis during your physical exam?
Must be quick! Don’t want to waste the farmers money
Name 5 components that are important when getting history on a dairy cow
Days in milk, feed intake, milk production and how it has changed, previous medical problems, treatments already performed
What are the 6 body systems that you must check during every dairy cow physical
LUMMAR- Lungs, Uterus, Mammary, Metabolic, Abomasum, Rumen
What body system is the most likely cause of fever of unknown origin in the dairy cow?
LUNGS
During what time frame are problems with the dairy cow uterus most likely to occur?
within 2 weeks postpartum
What is the most straightforward way to diagnose a cow with metritis?
Smell the discharge!
What is the most common cause of sickness in dairy cows?
Mastitis!
T/F: Milk production is one of the best indicators to determine whether mastitis is local or systemic
FALSE!
When does hypocalcemia usually occur?
Clinical hypocalcemia (down cows) most commonly occurs in first 24 hours after calving, but infection can also be subclinical during this time
T/F: A patient with mastitis almost always will have accompanying systemic signs.
False. Most mastitis infections are local and do not result in sick cows
Which is a more common problem in dairy herds: nervous ketosis or subclinical ketosis?
Subclinical is much more common and is usually secondary to other conditions causing the cow to go off feed. Nervous ketosis is rare and usually more of an issue towards peak lactation
What are the clinical manifestations of severe acidosis in dairy cows?
Off feed, down in milk, diarrhea, decreased rumen motility
However, acidosis is generally mild and a subclinical problem in herds due to improved nutrition
What are the three main conditions affecting the abomasum in dairy cows?
Left displaced abomasum, right displaced abomasum, and right torsed abomasum
Define subclinical, local, and systemic mastitis
Subclinical: cows have normal milk with elevated somatic cells
Local: abnormal milk but normal cow
Systemic: abnormal milk, abnormal cow (fever, dehydration, depression)
What two organisms are the most common cause of systemic (toxic) mastitis? Bonus- what type of bacteria are they?
The coliforms: E. coli and Klebsiella
- they are gram negative environmental pathogens
How do you determine if a herd has a problem with mastitis?
Epidemiology! Look at trends over time as well as treatment efficacy
What are the causes of lack of treatment success in mastitis cases?
- Superbug (rare)
- Slow detection of disease
- Bad treatment protocol
What is the only thing you can do if the problem is due to a superbug?
Biosecurity- prevent spread through quarantine of affected animals
How can you determine if the problem is due to superbug?
Rule out bad detection and treatment failure
How can you figure out if a mastitis problem is due to lack of timely diagnosis?
Look at farm records such as milk weights
What is the treatment protocol for mastitis
Fluid therapy: hypertonic saline IV (2-3 mL/lb), oral fluids (10 gallons)
Antibiotics: oxytet 10 mg/lb IV, Sulfadimethoxine, ceftiofur
NSAIDs: flunixin
Other supportive therapies
T/F: Not all systemic infections result in a fever
TRUE- 50% of cows with peritonitis dont have a fever, and cows with severe systemic illness may have either sub/normal/elevated temps
How many rumen contractions should occur per minute?
3 should occur every 2 minutes, or 1-2 per minute
*should be able to feel hand pressed outward by rumen while pressing down with stethoscope in paralumbar fossa
A sunken paralumbar fossa may be indicative of what?
Being off feed or dehydration
T/F: You can hear normal pings on the left side
False! a ping on the left is always indicative of something abnormal, and is most commonly LDA
How to determine percent dehydration with skin tent?
1% for every second the skin stays tented
- if eyes are sunken this is automatically 7% dehydration or worse
Where/what is the “normal ping area” on the right side of the cow?
it is where the spiral colon or cecum lies, and becomes more prominent in off feed cows
- it is found in the paralumbar fossa and does not usually extend up past the last rib
What should always be assessed during a rectal palpation?
- Manure quality and consistency
- Uterus: palpate for side relative to days in milk, and check for discharge
