Takayuki Okamoto, Yasusi Fukuda, Takafumi Inamura, Nae Kitayama, Kazuhiro Tabata, Katumi Sakurai
Purpose: For gastrointestinal obstruction of cows presenting a noticeable decrease of fecal amount probably due to omasal or abomasal impaction, traditional treatments such as correction of electrolyte imbalance and injection of antispasm drug and/or gastrointestinal prokinetic drugs are used. However, in many cases they result in low cure rate. To increase the rate, we examined the effects of sodium polyacrylate (PANa) as a lubricant on these treatments.
Methods and results: Ten grams of PANa dissolved in tap water were orally given via a polyethylene bottle (polybottle) or a nasal catheter to treat gastrointestinal obstruction of 19 cows suspected of omasal or abomasal impaction, in addition to treatments such as correction of electrolyte imbalance and injection of antispasm drug and/or gastrointestinal prokinetic drugs.
Using medical records, 61 cows diagnosed with omasal or abomasal impaction were selected for the traditional method group (hereafter, the control group) and were compared with the PANa combination group (hereafter, the study group). The cure rate in the control group was 16.4%, while that in the study group significantly (P<0.05) increased to 84.2%.
All cured cases in the study group were given PANa solution orally via a polybottle. The baseline blood test results revealed high levels of Ht and BUN and low levels of K and Cl, which returned to normal levels when normal fecal production was restored after the administration of PANa solution.
Conclusion: Oral administration of PANa solution via a polybottle in addition to traditional treatments can be a new treatment option for gastrointestinal obstruction of cows suspected of omasal impaction or abomasal impaction.
