Abstract
Simple SummaryAn important concern about conducting endometrial sampling procedures prior to breeding is the potential adverse effect on subsequent fertility of sampled cattle. Traumatic injury to the cervix and uterus and risk of introduction of infection caused by these sampling procedures may adversely affect the fertility of cattle sampled prior to breeding. To investigate this, a systematic review of publications assessing the impact of endometrial sampling on subsequent pregnancy rates was conducted. Analysis within the studies selected demonstrated that pregnancy rates were similar between sampled and non-sampled animals when procedures were performed before or around the time of breeding. Unfortunately, it was not possible to compare each sampling procedure between studies due to variation in sampling conditions (i.e., type of breed, age, reproductive status, and the sampling to breeding interval). We concluded that conducting these endometrial sampling procedures does not adversely affect subsequent fertility; therefore they could be used to more accurately identify cattle with a normal endometrium prior to conducting procedures such as embryo transfer. However, further studies with a much larger number of cattle are needed to verify the effects of endometrial sampling on pregnancy rates.Endometrial infections are a common cause of reproductive loss in cattle. Accurate diagnosis is important to reduce the economic losses caused by endometritis. A range of sampling procedures have been developed which enable collection of endometrial tissue or luminal cells or uterine fluid. However, as these are all invasive procedures, there is a risk that sampling around the time of breeding may adversely affect subsequent pregnancy rate. This systematic review compared the pregnancy rates (PR) of cattle which underwent uterine lavage (UL), cotton swab (CS), cytobrush (CB), cytotape (CT), or endometrial biopsy (EB) sampling procedures with those that were not sampled. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) protocol, relevant databases, including Pubmed, Web of Science, CAB s, VetMed Resource–Ruminants, and Scopus, were searched. The outcome measured was the pregnancy rate after the collection of endometrial sample(s). Seven studies, involving a total of 3693 cows, fulfilled the inclusion criteria for the systematic review and allowed the comparison of PR between sampled (n = 1254) and non-sampled cows (n = 2409). The results of the systematic review showed that endometrial sampling procedures can be performed before breeding or shortly after insemination without adversely affecting pregnancy rates in cattle. However, further studies are needed to validate this information.
Highlights
High reproductive performance in production animals such as beef and dairy cattle is vital for achieving optimal per capita return
Endometritis is a common cause of reproductive failure, especially in dairy cattle, causing increases in both calving to conception interval and culling rates [1,2]
Fifty-six publications were retrieved for a full text appraisal, with 49 subsequently excluded because they did not meet the predefined inclusion criteria (Table 1)
Summary
High reproductive performance in production animals such as beef and dairy cattle is vital for achieving optimal per capita return. The diagnosis of endometritis often relies on the detection of purulent or mucopurulent vulvar or cervical discharge, or palpation of enlarged, sometimes fluctuant uterine horns which lack tone. Transrectal palpation [5,6], and/or ultrasound [7,8,9] These quick, low-cost diagnostic methods are commonly employed in routine herd health postpartum examinations. More invasive sample collection methods such as uterine lavage (UL), intrauterine cotton swab (CS), cytobrush (CB), or cytotape (CT) sampling, and endometrial biopsy (EB) are required to confirm the diagnosis These techniques enable the collection of epithelial and inflammatory cells (CS, UL, CB, and CT), luminal secretions (UL), and endometrial tissue (EB) that allow the inspection of deeper physiological and cellular responses not yet identifiable by routine clinical examinations. The samples obtained can be subjected to cytological examination [12,13], bacteriological culture [14], histopathological examination [15], protein analysis [16], and gene expression analysis [17] to diagnose the status of the endometrial environment
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