Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment of Ketosis

Abstract

Ketosis afflicts lactating dairy cattle of all ages, increasing during peak production years. It may occur two to three weeks prepartum to four months Postpartum.Common symptoms are diminished appetite, decreased milk, nervousness, profuse salivation, unnatural gait, licking themselves, grasping hard objects and damaging mouth, becoming explosively excited and unmanageable. clinically, animals reveal lack of alertness, eyes lack luster, rumen is hard and partially empty and noisy, feces are abnormally firm, and urine is clear, showing characteristics color responses to the Ross modification of the Rothera test. Stress factors may cause ketosis such as high production indigestion, milk fever, partial starvation, metritis, mastitis, and ovarian cystsTreatment for ketotic animals varies depending on conditions. Intravenous injection of dextrose is the author's standard treatment. Orally administered propylene glycol after initial use of dextrose or glucocorticoids has given excellent results. Intravenous or intramuscular cortisone has given extremely variable results. Intravenous or intramuscular adrenocorticotropin has given excellent results in prolonged ketosis, preceded by glucocorticoids. Dramatic recoveries have resulted from chloral hydrate for animals suffering from primary ketosis.