Postpartum ketoprofen treatment does not alter stress biomarkers in cows and calves experiencing assisted and unassisted parturition: a randomised controlled trial

Abstract

Dystocia is considered painful and stressful for both the dam and the calf, although systematic evidence of this is limited. Few studies have investigated biochemical markers of stress and pain postpartum and whether any adverse effects are ameliorated by administration of analgesia. In this study, cow-calf pairs experiencing both mild to moderate farmer assistance and no assistance at parturition were randomly assigned to either treatment or placebo group in a two-by-two design (animals subject to veterinary intervention were excluded). The treatments were the NSAID ketoprofen or saline, administered within three hours of parturition. Blood samples taken in the immediate postpartum period, and at 24 hours, 48 hours and 7 days after parturition, were analysed for plasma concentrations of creatine kinase and cortisol (cows and calves) and plasma L-lactate and total protein concentration (calves). Stress biomarkers were highest in the immediate postpartum period and declined over time (P<0.05). Cow plasma cortisol was higher in animals experiencing assisted parturition in the immediate postpartum period (P=0.023); by 24 hours no difference was evident. Intervention with NSAID analgesia did not result in beneficial changes in stress biomarkers. Based on biomarkers alone, this suggests limited benefits of NSAID treatment in unassisted or mild to moderately assisted parturition.

Clinical impacts of administering a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug to beef calves after assisted calving on pain and inflammation, passive immunity, health, and growth

“…Although NSAIDs are designed to decrease pain and inflammation (Coetzee, 2011), no association was found in the measured physiological indicators of pain and inflammation between meloxicam and placebo medicated calves in the present study and our hypothesis was not supported. This is in agreement with recent work investigating the effects of another NSAID, ketoprofen, on stress biomarkers in calves (Gladden et al, 2018). In that study, the authors found no effect of administering an NSAID within 3 h of birth on cortisol, creatine kinase, plasma l -lactate, or total protein concentration at 24 h of age.…”

Inflammatory Correlated Response in Two Lines of Rabbit Selected Divergently for Litter Size Environmental Variability

“…It is known that parturition is considered one of the most stressful and painful events for the dam [28]. Such a stressful event could increase the cortisol concentration up to several hours postpartum [29]. This finding implies that both lines were under similar level of stress.…”

A randomised controlled trial investigating the effects of administering a non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drug to beef calves assisted at birth and risk factors associated with passive immunity, health, and growth

“…Although a few studies have investigated the effects of administering an NSAID to neonatal calves, none has reported pathological side effects 19–21 27 28. Several studies have investigated the negative side effects of NSAIDs in neonatal foals, indicating repeated and higher doses of flunixin meglumine associated with stomach ulcerations and petechiations of the caecum and colon,51 but no side effects were found with daily administration of meloxicam in foals two to three days old 52.…”