Methods of diagnosis and treatment of postpartum uterine infection adopted by Algerian veterinarians

Abstract

The present study aimed to monitor the practices of Algerian veterinarians in the diagnosis and treatment of puerperalmetritis (PM) and clinical endometritis (CE) in cattle. For this purpose, a questionnaire was established and distributed to collect theinformation concerning veterinarian profiles and practices related to the diagnosis and treatment of PM and CE. The results showedthat examinations of the uterus (rectal palpation), vaginal discharge, and rectal temperature were the most practiced methods for PM(71%, 68%, and 83%, respectively) and CE (86%, 60%, and 65%, respectively) diagnosis. Tetracycline was the antibiotic of choice forintrauterine treatment of PM (54%) and CE (57%), whereas penicillin was the preferred parenteral antibiotic against PM (68%) and CE(64%). In addition, molecules combined with antibiotic treatment were PGF2α (PM: 71%, CE: 79%), vitamins (PM: 73%, CE: 60.5%),and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (PM: 68.2%, CE: 58%). Inseminators were more likely to use IU cephalosporins to treat PMand CE (OR = 3.5, P < 0.05 and OR = 5.1, P < 0.01, respectively). Veterinarians with more than 10 years of experience were more likelyto use IU cephalosporins to treat PM (OR = 3.8, P = 0.03). Moreover, bovine practitioners were less likely to observe hyperthermia incases of CE (OR = 0.29, P = 0.02).