Week 2- Metabolic Disorders of Production animals 2

Question 1

What is the usual aetiology of hypocalcaemia?

Answer 1

• Increased calcium demand at calving
• failure of homeostatic mechanisms to respond

Question 2

What are the ‘skeletal’ clinical signs of hypocalcaemia

Answer 2

Generalised
weakness
* Ataxia
* Recumbency
* ‘S-bend’ neck

Question 3

What are the smooth muscle clinical signs of hypocalcaemia?

Answer 3

Inappetence
* Ruminal hypomotility / atony
* Ruminal tympany
* Constipation
* ↓/absent
eructation
* Uterine inertia

Question 4

What are the cardiac clinical signs of hypocalcaemia?

Answer 4

Compensatory
tachycardia (-ve
inotropic effect)

Question 5

What are the subclinical signs of hypocalcaemia?

Answer 5

• decreased reproductive performance
• increased metabolic disease
• decreased production
• decreased immunity

Question 6

How might you diagnose hypocalcaemia?

Answer 6

Clinical signs
* Serum biochemistry

Question 7

How might you treat hypocalcaemia?

Answer 7

Intravenous Calcium borogluconate (40%)
* Oral Calcium (e.g. Calcium chloride / propionate)
* Nursing & nutrition
* Management of 2o conditions

Question 8

What are the clinical signs of hypomagnesaemia?

Answer 8

Nervousness, excitability, hyperaesthesia
» Muscle tremors
» Bruxism, frothing at the mouth
» Ataxia (staggering gait) & collapse
» +/- Convulsions & seizures
» +/- Pyrexia
» Sudden death

Question 9

How might you diagnose hypomagnesaemia?

Answer 9

Clinical signs
» Serum magnesium levels
» Post-mortem (Mg levels ↑ PM)
* CSF
* Aqueous humour (<24 hours dead)
* Vitreous humour (>24 hours dead

Question 10

How might you manage hypomagneseamia?

Answer 10

• Sedation
• Mg Supplementation

Question 11

How can you prevent hypomagneseamia?

Answer 11

Magnesium supplementation
* Boluses
* Concentrates
* Lick buckets
» Improve Mg content of sward
» Buffer feeding
» ↓ fertiliser usage
» Provision of shelter
» Monitoring