Abstract

Endometritis treatment is a controversial topic among veterinary practitioners. The objective of this study was to evaluate reproductive profiles of dairy cows that presented uterine discharge at 25 days in milk and were treated with hormones and a specific antibiotic for intrauterine infusion. In a single herd, at 25 (±5) days after parturition, the reproductive tract (vulva, vagina, cervix and size of the uterine horns) of Holstein cows (n = 304) were evaluated and grouped as: 1) cows that presented normal uterine horns size, none or light uterine discharge and needed no treatment (healthy, n = 250); and, 2) cows that had placental retention and/or uterine discharge and increased size of one of the uterine horns. Cows in group 2 were treated with hormones (estradiol benzoate and prostaglandin F_2a) and uterine infusion (500 mg of cephapirin benzathine in 19.6 g ointment base; Metricure, Intervet; UIP group, n = 54). The statistical model included: number of treatments, days to first service, days open, number of services per conception and calving interval as affected by uterine discharge. Healthy cows had lower (P = 0.0001) number of treatments (0.0) than UIP cows (2.3 ± .31). UIP cows showed a delay (P = 0.0001) to first service (78.33 ± 2.9 days) compared with healthy cows (67.46 ± 0.9). Healthy cows conceived faster (P = 0.0001) and required less (P = 0.0001) services per conception (92.16 ± 2.7 days and 1.76 ± 0.08, respectively) than UIP cows (281.2 ± 31.6 days and 4.74 ± 0.47, respectively). The calving interval in healthy cows (374.05 ± 2.7 days) was shorter (P = 0.0001) than in UIP cows (591 ± 40.2 days). In conclusion dairy cows that had uterine discharge 25 days after calving and treated with hormones and intrauterine specific antibiotic showed no improvement in reproductive patterns compared to cows with no uterine discharges.

Key words: Uterine discharge, uterine therapy, reproductive performance.