Predicting prognosis of left displaced abomasal corrective surgery

Abstract

The incidence rate of left displaced abomasum (LDA) in North America is commonly 3 to 7% of calvings. Of these cases, 12 to 17% are culled or die within 30 days of surgery. There have been numerous studies focused on predicting prognosis for right displaced abomasal corrective surgery; however, fewer studies focus on LDA surgeries. These studies tend to measure only a few parameters (i.e. blood analysis) and none focus on concurrent disease or physical exam at diagnosis. Croushore et al (2013) reported that cows that were not ketotic at diagnosis (BHBA<1.2mmol/L) were at 2.5 times greater risk of being culled within 30 days than ketotic cows. Various studies have also demonstrated that elevated aspartate aminotransferase, glutamate dehydrogenase, ornithine carbamoyl transferase, bilirubin, urea, Ca, K, and Mg were associated with an increased risk of unfavorable outcomes. The objective of this research was to determine if patient survival (or culling) within 60 days after surgery could be predicted from the physical exam findings, concurrent disease status, and a biochemical profile from a blood sample obtained at the time of LDA diagnosis.