RESUMEN
Pharyngeal trauma in cattle can occur during the administration of oral medication using a balling gun. The number of cases of severe complications due to bolus application that have been referred to our hospital has increased from nil between 1996 and 2008 to three or four per year. In our experience, reports by bovine veterinarians of patients with severe and often fatal pharyngeal trauma, which were not referred to the clinic, have become more common in recent years as well. The incidence of this complication is likely to be higher than this number of referrals suggests. Diagnosis without the help of imaging techniques, such as radiography and endoscopy, may be difficult, especially in cases where exploration of the pharynx cannot be carried out, or is unable to confirm the absence or presence of a lesion. Prognosis is often poor in cases where perforation has been confirmed. Boluses are increasingly administered by the owners or farm personnel without the supervision of a veterinarian. In order to prevent losses due to balling gun-induced injuries, the veterinarian plays a crucial role in giving advice to his clients. Five cases of cattle suffering from varying degrees of balling gun-induced trauma are presented, and consideration is given to incorrect application techniques.
Asunto(s)
Enfermedades de los Bovinos/epidemiología , Infusiones Parenterales/veterinaria , Faringe/lesiones , Drogas Veterinarias/administración & dosificación , Heridas y Lesiones/veterinaria , Administración Oral , Crianza de Animales Domésticos , Bienestar del Animal , Animales , Bovinos , Enfermedades de los Bovinos/etiología , Femenino , Infusiones Parenterales/efectos adversos , Masculino , Heridas y Lesiones/epidemiología , Heridas y Lesiones/etiologíaRESUMEN
Partial brachial plexus paresis was diagnosed in three calves with unilateral functional lameness in a forelimb based on clinical and neurologic examinations. Clinical signs of radial nerve paresis were the main presenting problems. Electromyography was used to identify the affected nerves with the calves under general anaesthesia. Abnormal spontaneous activity of denervated muscles showed that the radial, musculocutaneous, median and ulnar nerves were compromised. The calves were treated medically, using splint bandages, and with physiotherapy. All calves regained function of the affected legs and normal weight bearing.
Asunto(s)
Neuropatías del Plexo Braquial/veterinaria , Enfermedades de los Bovinos/diagnóstico , Degeneración Nerviosa/veterinaria , Paresia/veterinaria , Animales , Neuropatías del Plexo Braquial/diagnóstico , Neuropatías del Plexo Braquial/terapia , Bovinos , Electromiografía/veterinaria , Femenino , Miembro Anterior , Cojera Animal/diagnóstico , Cojera Animal/etiología , Atrofia Muscular/veterinaria , Degeneración Nerviosa/diagnóstico , Degeneración Nerviosa/terapia , Paresia/diagnóstico , Paresia/terapia , Nervio Cubital/patologíaRESUMEN
The manner in which the claws contacted the ground at the walk was evaluated in 18 healthy heifers. The animals were filmed before and after claw trimming while walking on a treadmill using high-speed cinematography (500 frames/s). For each limb, 4 consecutive steps were recorded from a side and a frontal plane. The objectives of the study were to evaluate 1) the order of claw contact with the treadmill surface, 2) the initial claw contact area, and 3) the effect of trimming on claw contact patterns. The heifers placed their front feet on the ground in a plane sagittal to the shoulders, whereas the hind feet were advanced more toward the median plane. Before trimming, the lateral claws contacted the ground before the medial in 83% of front and 100% of hind limbs. Trimming changed the percentage to 92% in the front and to 97% in the hind limbs. The percentage with which the heel of the lateral claws became the region of initial contact with the ground increased from 47 to 64% in the front feet and from 50 to 78% in the hind feet. In the medial claws of the forelimbs, claw trimming shifted the region of initial contact from the toe to the abaxial wall and heel. In the hind limbs, the main region of initial contact of the medial claws became the abaxial wall. Weight bearing by the medial claw became visibly apparent only during the midstance, propulsion, and push-off phases. "Heel first" contact of the lateral claws in the front and hind limbs may be the normal gait pattern in cattle. On hard surfaces, this pattern may lead to overload and predispose to disease, especially in the hind limbs.