Comparative study of electrocardiographic parameters in calves born after eutocia versus dystocia

Vet World Vol.15 November-2022 Article-13

Research Article

Veterinary World, 15(11): 2603-2610

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2022.2603-2610

Julia Nowak¹, Jessica Joerling², Marlene Sickinger², and Axel Wehrend¹

1. Clinic for Veterinary Obstetrics, Gynaecology, and Andrology for Large and Small Animals with Ambulance Service, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Justus-Liebig-University Gießen, Frankfurter Straße 106, 35392 Giessen, Germany.
2. Clinic for Ruminants, Justus-Liebig-University Gießen, Frankfurter Straße 104, 35392 Gießen, Germany.

Background and Aim: The mortality rate of perinatal calves is high, particularly in dystocia cases. Besides detectable conditions such as trauma or amniotic fluid aspiration, the potential salience of cardiological diseases in neonatal bovine deaths has received little attention. This study aimed to compare the electrocardiographic parameters of calves born under conditions of dystocia and eutocia.

Materials and Methods: Electrocardiographic, clinical, and laboratory diagnostic examinations were performed during the first 5 days of life on 40 calves. Of them, 20 calves were born under conditions of dystocia and 20 of eutocia.

Results: Electrocardiograms (ECGs) did not show detectable arrhythmias in all calves. Both groups exhibited tachycardia on their first ECGs. The QT and ST interval durations developed differently over time in both groups, suggesting that these may be related to conditions of birth.

Conclusion: The electrocardiographic differences between calves born of dystocia and eutocia could be a factor in the increased mortality rate of calves born of dystocia. Keywords: birth, bovine, electrocardiogram, neonate.

Keywords: birth, bovine, electrocardiogram, neonate.

How to cite this article: Nowak J, Joerling J, Sickinger M, and Wehrend A (2022) Comparative study of electrocardiographic parameters in calves born after eutocia versus dystocia, Veterinary World, 15(11): 2603–2610.

Received: 26-05-2022 Accepted: 04-10-2022 Published online: 18-11-2022

Corresponding author: Axel Wehrend E-mail: axel.wehrend@vetmed.uni-giessen.de

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2022.2603-2610

Copyright: Nowak, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.