Comparison of axillary and inguinal temperature with rectal temperature in dogs at a veterinary teaching hospital

OBJECTIVES

The objective of the study was to determine the agreement between rectal, axillary and inguinal temperatures and to estimate the accuracy of these measurements in detecting hyperthermia and hypothermia in dogs presented at a veterinary teaching hospital in the tropical Guinea Savannah zone.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Prospectively, body temperature was measured in 610 dogs, using digital thermometry in the axillary, inguinal and rectal regions.

RESULTS

Overall, axillary and inguinal temperatures significantly underestimated rectal temperature, with a mean difference of -0.39 ± 0.02°C (95% confidence interval: -0.43 to -0.35; limit of agreement: -1.27 to 0.49) and - 0.34 ± 0.02°C (95% confidence interval, -0.37 to -0.30; limit of agreement: -1.15 to 0.47), respectively. The limits of agreement of axillary and inguinal temperatures were wide and above the pre-determined maximal acceptable difference of ±0.50°C recommended for clinical significance of rectal temperature in dogs. Bland-Altman plots showed that the confidence intervals of the mean differences of axillary and inguinal temperatures did not include the value zero, thereby indicating that the tested methods lack agreement with rectal temperature. Sensitivity and specificity for the detection of hyperthermia with axillary temperature were 72.1% and 30.5%, respectively. In contrast, sensitivity and specificity for the detection of hyperthermia with inguinal temperature were 77.9% and 26.2%, respectively. The magnitude of disagreement between axillary, inguinal and rectal temperatures was affected by age, breed and sex being slightly lower in mature, non-native breed and female dogs.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE

Axillary and inguinal temperature measurements in dogs significantly underestimated rectal temperature measurements by -0.39 ± 0.02°C and -0.34 ± 0.02°C, respectively. The results indicate that axillary and inguinal temperatures should not be used as a replacement for rectal temperature due to the wide limits of agreement. In addition, axillary and inguinal temperatures may not be suitable in detecting hyperthermia because the sensitivity were lower than the required set-point of 90.0% for clinical identification of hyperthermia.

Evaluating the association between early-lactation lying behavior and hoof lesion development in lactating Jersey cows

Objectives were to evaluate the association between behavior and hoof lesions (HL) in lactating dairy cows. Jersey cows without any visible HL on all 4 legs were enrolled at 20 ± 3 d in milk (DIM), examined for body condition score (BCS), and had an automatic activity monitor (AfiTag II, AfiMilk, Afikim, Israel) attached to their right hind leg. At 120 ± 3 DIM, activity monitors were removed and cows were re-examined for HL and BCS. Cows were classified according to HL status as either healthy or with HL at d 120. Because sole hemorrhage (SH) accounted for over 80% of HL on d 120, SH was reclassified according to the number of feet affected. Daily activity data (daily lying duration, lying bouts, lying bout duration, and number of steps) of 344 cows collected between d 20 and d 120 were analyzed using restricted maximum likelihood linear mixed models with an autoregressive covariance structure. Separate models were built to include specific activities, HL status at d 120, DIM, interaction between lesion status at d 120 and DIM, parity, season of calving, and BCS change from d 20 to d 120 as fixed effects. Cow was included in all models as random effect. Incidence of HL at d 120 was 58.4% (n = 201 out of 344). Compared with healthy cows, cows with HL at d 120 had reduced daily lying duration (-0.53 h; 95% CI: -0.78 to -0.28 h) in the early postpartum period. We found no evidence for a difference in number of lying bouts (0.41; 95% CI: -0.76 to 1.59;), lying bout duration (-3.04 min; 95% CI: -6.6 to 0.49), and number of steps (62.14; 95% CI: -89.62 to 213.91) between cows that remained healthy and those that developed HL. Compared with healthy cows, cows that developed SH in 1 or more feet had reduced daily lying duration in the early postpartum period. Irrespective of lesion status at d 120, daily lying duration and lying bout duration increased from d 20 to d 120, whereas lying bout number and number of steps decreased from d 20 to d 120. We concluded that cows that developed HL had a reduced daily lying duration in the early postpartum period. Therefore, reduced daily lying duration should be considered a risk factor for HL development in lactating dairy cows.

Use of on-farm milk progesterone information to predict fertility outcomes in dairy cows subjected to timed artificial insemination

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the use of a qualitative on-farm milk progesterone test to predict non-pregnancy in dairy cows. Lactating Jersey cows (n = 752) were subjected to the 5-d Cosynch-72 protocol for timed artificial insemination (AI; d -8 GnRH, d -3 and -2 PGF_2α, d 0 GnRH and timed AI). Milk was sampled on d -3, 0, 7, and 28 relative to timed AI, and progesterone concentrations were assessed using a lateral flow immunochromatographic test. Samples were classified into 3 groups indicative of high (hP4; test line not visible or lighter than reference), intermediate (iP4; test line similar to reference), and low (lP4; test line darker than reference) progesterone concentrations. Blood was sampled from a subset of cows (n = 50) on d -3, 0, 7, and 28 relative to timed AI, and plasma progesterone concentrations were determined by RIA. Cows were observed daily for signs of estrus based on removal of tail paint. Pregnancy was diagnosed by ultrasonography on d 34 and 62 after AI. Plasma progesterone concentrations across all time points were greater for hP4 (3.13 ± 0.20 ng/mL) followed by iP4 (1.12 ± 0.27 ng/mL) and lP4 (0.38 ± 0.23 ng/mL). Cows in lP4 on d -3 had lesser pregnancy per AI (P/AI) compared with iP4 and hP4 (17.4, 38.3, and 37.2%, respectively). For measurements performed on the day of AI (d 0), lP4 cows had greater P/AI compared with hP4 and iP4 (34.8, 0.0, and 15.6%, respectively), and the risk of pregnancy loss tended to be greater for iP4 compared with lP4. Cows in lP4 on d 7 after AI had lesser P/AI than those in iP4 and hP4 (12.0, 34.0, and 37.7%, respectively). Cows classified as lP4 on d 28 had the least P/AI on d 62 followed by iP4 and then hP4 (0.8, 9.2, and 59.4%, respectively) and were at the greatest risk for pregnancy loss (lP4 = 74.6%, iP4 = 8.4%, hP4 = 7.1%). Sensitivity and specificity to predict non-pregnancy on d 62 were 0.86 and 0.32 (d -3), 0.95 and 0.15 (d 0), 0.93 and 0.23 (d 7), and 0.99 and 0.53 (d 28), respectively. On-farm milk progesterone profiling using a lateral flow immunochromatographic test was able to identify cows without functional corpus luteum and to predict fertility outcomes following timed AI.

Association between hoof lesions and fertility in lactating Jersey cows

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the association between hoof lesions and fertility in dairy cows. Lactating Jersey cows (n = 1,639) were enrolled at 20 ± 3 d in milk (D20), examined and treated for presence of hoof lesions (HL), and evaluated for body condition score (BCS). Afterward, they were managed according to standard farm procedures, including estrus detection and presynchronization and a 5 d Cosynch-72 protocol for cows that failed to show estrus. Ovaries were scanned at 27 and 41 ± 3 d in milk, and cows with a corpus luteum greater than 20 mm on at least 1 exam were considered cyclic. At 120 ± 3 d in milk (D120), cows were re-examined for HL and BCS. Cows were classified at D20 according to HL status as healthy (n = 1,197) or having HL (n = 429), and according to HL category as healthy (n = 1,197) or having a sole hemorrhage (n = 280), noninfectious HL (sole ulcer, toe ulcer, or white line disease; n = 113), or infectious HL (digital dermatitis and foot rot; n = 36). Cows with HL at D20 had reduced odds of being cyclic (38.3 vs. 51.9%) and a longer interval from calving to first service (58 vs. 51 d) compared with healthy cows. Cows with infectious HL at D20 had reduced odds of pregnancy to first service (16.7 vs. 38.3%) compared with healthy cows. Cows with sole hemorrhage at D20 were more likely to lose pregnancies between d 32 and 64 after the first service postpartum compared with healthy cows (10.5 vs. 5.2%). Cows with sole hemorrhage at D20 had a smaller hazard of pregnancy (67.9 vs. 75.5%) at 150 d in milk and more days open (88 vs. 77d) compared with healthy cows. To assess the relationship between the development of HL and fertility, cows were classified as healthy (no HL at D20 and D120; n = 308), cured (any HL at D20 and no HL at D120; n = 72), new HL (no HL at D20 and any HL at D120; n = 597), and chronic (any HL at D20 and D120; n = 226). Sole hemorrhage accounted for 93% of new HL. The proportions of cows with HL at D20 and D120 were 26.9 and 68.4%, respectively. We found no evidence for a difference in pregnancy hazard at 150 d in milk between cows that remained healthy (n = 308) and cows that developed new HL (n = 597). Hoof lesions at D20, but not new HL, were associated with decreased odds of cyclicity, longer interval from calving to first service postpartum, and reduced pregnancy hazard in Jersey cows. The effect of an HL diagnosis in early lactation and management to reduce chronic HL in dairy cows warrants further investigation.

Influence of Cattle Backgrounding Systems on Animal and Carcass Characteristics

ObjectivesCattle can be managed differently during the backgrounding segment, which may alter long-term animal and carcass characteristics. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to 1) measure carcass composition over time, and 2) determine the effect of different backgrounding diets on animal growth and carcass characteristics.Materials and MethodsAngus and Angus × Simmental crossed calves (n = 65) were stratified by dam age, birth date, weaning weight, breed, and sex post weaning in a completely randomized design to one of three treatments: (1) perennial pasture (PP; grazing quack grass, orchard grass; smooth brome grass, red clover, and alfalfa); (2) summer annual cover crop (CC; grazing cereal oats, purple top turnips, hunter forage brassica, and graza forage radish); and (3) dry lot (DL; bunk fed a haylage ration consisting of 28 NEm Mcal/50.8 kg DM) during backgrounding for 55 d. Concluding backgrounding, the CC and PP treatments were transported to pens where all treatments were sorted by gender and acclimated to a finishing ration over a period of 14 d and continued receiving 3 step-up diets over the next 25 d. Two pens during the finishing segment were utilized to house heifers and steers, respectively. The heifers were top dressed with melengestral acetate till harvest, which was determined by targeting a common backfat thickness per treatment. From backgrounding to harvest, cattle were weighed to determine body weight (BW), average daily gain (ADG) and hip height (HH) measurements were recorded every 28 d. Five periodic carcass ultrasound measures were recorded to evaluate ultrasound rib eye area (uREA), rib fat thickness (uRFT), and percent intramuscular fat (uIMF). At harvest, carcass measurements included hot carcass weight (HCW), LMA, 12th rib backfat (FT), kidney, pelvic and heart fat (KPH), marbling and maturity score and objective color (L*, a*, b*). Statistical analyses were conducted using mixed model procedures and animal weaning weight was used as a covariate. Least square means were computed and separated using least significant differences when treatment effects were significant at α ≤ 0.05.ResultsCattle ADG, uREA, uRFT, and HH did not differ (P ≥ 0.05) among treatments from backgrounding to harvest (Table 2). Cattle in DL were heavier (P ≤ 0.05) in BW than CC and PP, which were similar (P ≥ 0.05). Percent uIMF was greater (P ≤ 0.05) for DL and similar (P ≥ 0.05) to PP though CC was lower (P ≤ 0.05) and similar (P ≤ 0.05) to PP.ConclusionTreatments utilizing different backgrounding diets influence average body weights and ultrasound intramuscular adipose. Cattle grazing forages have lighter body weights and lower ultrasound intramuscular adipose though, cattle grazing perennial pastures were most variable in carcass ultrasound intramuscular adipose.Table 2Least squares mean performance responses and ultrasound-measured composition (averaged across all periodic measurements) according to the backgrounding treatment1