Using vaginal discharge score (VDS) grading system to evaluate the effect of clinical endometritis on reproductive performance of dairy cows in China

Abstract

Clinical endometritis (CE) is a major cause in affecting the reproductive performance of dairy cows. The objectives of this study were to ascertain the prevalence of CE and to evaluate the effect of CE on reproductive performance in dairy cows using vaginal discharge score (VDS) grading system. 803 dairy cows were examined by vaginoscope with 4-point VDS at 26 ± 3 days in milk (DIM) and classified into six groups: non-endometritis with VDS 0 (control; CON), endometritis with VDS 1 (MEM), non-treated endometritis with VDS 2 (NTME), treated endometritis with VDS 2 (TME), non-treated endometritis with VDS 3 (NTPE), and treated endometritis with VDS 3 (TPE). Cows in TME and TPE groups were treated with 200 mL of 50% dextrose solution by intrauterine infusion. The prevalence of CE was 33% at 26 ± 3 DIM. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed cows in MEM, NTME and NTPE groups had a less likelihood of first artificial insemination (AI) pregnancy than those in CON group (P < 0.05). Kaplan-Meier survival curves for days open were statistically different (P = 0.004). In Cox regression model, cows in NTME and NTPE groups had a reduced pregnancy rate than those in CON group (P < 0.05). The hazard of pregnancy in NTME group was lower than that in TME group (P = 0.044). Similarly, it was lower for the hazard of pregnancy in NTPE group than in TPE group (P = 0.048). Cows in MEM, NTME, and NTPE groups required more services per pregnancy than those in CON group (P < 0.05). In conclusion, CE examined by the VDS grading system impaired reproductive performance, and mild endometritis with VDS 1 should be treated in the early postpartum period to ameliorate fertility in dairy herds.

Aetiologies and therapeutic management of infertility in cows reared in high altitude tribal areas of Himachal Pradesh

“…The overall prevalence of clinical endometritis was 42.77% in different tribal areas of Himachal Pradesh and was higher than overall prevalence (3.4-40%) reported in the world (Gilbert et al 2005). The present prevalence was higher than 33% but lower than 69.8% recorded by Wang et al (2021) and Ribeiro et al (2014), respectively. The disparity in the prevalence of endometritis compared to the above-mentioned reports can be due to differences in the management system under which the cows were maintained.…”

Uterine Tissue Metabonomics Combined with 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing To Analyze the Changes of Gut Microbiota in Mice with Endometritis and the Intervention Effect of Tau Interferon

“…It not only influences the normal fertility of cows but also brings about great economic losses to the livestock industry ( 21 ). At present, antibiotics are the main treatment for most cow endometritis, but their disadvantages, such as the increase of bacterial resistance and drug residues, outweigh their advantages ( 22 , 23 ). It has been previously shown that IFN-τ has an anti-inflammatory property ( 16 , 17 , 24 ).…”

Determination of predictive factors for the clinical cure rate of endometritis in Holstein dairy cows

“…Endometritis reduces reproductive performance in dairy cows and different management programs have been implemented to improve and control the endometritis such as intramuscular injection of prostaglandin F 2α (PGF 2α ) and intrauterine infusion of antibiotics (Dubuc et al 2021;LeBlanc et al 2002b;Wang et al 2021). Response to the treatment of clinical endometritis and the subsequent improvement of the reproductive performance varies among reports.…”