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CARDIOLOGY
()Map CARDIOVASCULAR CONDITIONS (Map)



Category:WikiClinical BovineCow

aka: Wire; Hardware Disease

Description

  • A common cause of severe abdominal pain in cattle.
  • Rare in other animals.


Diagnosis

History & Clinical Signs

  • Common in dairy cattle
  • Dull
  • Depressed
  • Extension of the neck
  • Arching of the back
  • Standing with elbows abducted
  • Signs of right sided heart failure
  • Peripheral oedema


Physical Exam

  • Grunt (pain response) when pressure is applied to the ventral abdomen
  • Increased temperature
  • Increased pulses
  • Decreased to absent rumenal activity
  • Dry mucus covered feces
  • Tachycardia


Laboratory Findings

Complete Cell Count:

  • Neutrophilia with a left shift
  • Increased fibrinogen
  • Increased serum total protein


Fluid Analysis: Fluid used from pericardiocentesis can confirm traumatic pericarditis


Treatment

  • Confine animal
  • Broad Spectrum Antibiotics
  • Administer fluids if the animal is dehydrated
  • Remove foreign object with a rumenotomy
  • Due to economics most animals are culled
  • Prevention through good husbandry practices is the best treatment!