The treatment of cystic ovarian disease (COD) in dairy cows is still controversial, and some researchers recommend using gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) regardless of the type of cysts. The aim of this study was to comparatively evaluate the reproductive performance of cows diagnosed with follicular or luteal cystic structures, after treatment with either buserelin acetate (GnRH agonist) or dinoprost (prostaglandin F2-alpha or PGF2α). The diagnosis was established by ultrasonographic examinations performed twice a month starting 40–45 days after calving, until the cows were diagnosed pregnant after artificial insemination. Both types of cysts were treated either with 21 µg buserelin acetate or 25 mg dinoprost, resulting in four subject groups. After treatment, the estrus rate in cows with follicular cysts treated with dinoprost (55.1%) was significantly lower (P<0.05) than in cows treated with buserelin acetate (77.5%) or in cows diagnosed with luteal cysts (77.2% for dinoprost and 72.4% for buserelin acetate). The conception rate was higher (P<0.05) in cows with follicular cysts treated with buserelin acetate (67.7%) than in those treated with dinoprost (60%) or in those with luteal cysts (56.9% for dinoprost and 47.5% for buserelin acetate). These results show that it is preferable to differentiate between the two types of ovarian cysts before treatment. Luteal cysts can be treated with either PGF2α or GnRH analogues, with better results when PGF2α is used. Contrastingly, follicular cysts are better treated with GnRH analogues. When differentiation is not possible, GnRH analogues are recommended over PGF2α.

Ovarian cysts are one of the most common ovarian dysfunctions in dairy cattle, which can lead to a considerable economic loss through its high incidence and can reduce the reproductive performance. Anestrus is the most significant clinical sign observed in dairy cattle suffering from this condition. For diagnosis, most of the veterinarians use a combination of methods, from ultrasonography as an additional approach to trans-rectal palpation and symptomatology when assessing ovarian cysts. Although the Ovsynch treatment seems to be preferred, the pregnancy rate after this treatment is relatively low. Despite such reports on dairy cattle ovarian cysts, the data is insufficient to validate all the characteristics of this condition. This review summarizes what the literature has so far provided from definition to treatment of ovarian cysts in dairy cattle.

The increased air temperature combined with the reduction of rainfall during hot season impairs the capacity of cows to maintain the optimal body temperature. This study tested the hypothesis that climate changes affect the medium yielding cows in temperate continental climate. The productive-reproductive parameters of 8607 milking cows from a dairy farm in North-eastern Romania were examined and correlated with changes in ambient temperatures and rainfall between the years of 1983 and 2010. We observed that the number of artificial inseminations served to cows showed a decreasing trend. The reduction in this parameter was significantly influenced by the increase in the average and maximum temperatures during hot season associated with the reduction in rainfall, as shown by regression analysis. Other studied parameters such as milk production, calving to conception interval, calving to first artificial insemination interval and conception rates at first, second and more than two services were not related to the changes in average annual temperatures, annual temperatures amplitude and annual precipitation quantities. This study suggests that, although present, the effects of climate changes on some productive-reproductive parameters of medium yielding cows in geographic areas with temperate continental climate are not as dramatic as described in other studies.

Pregnancy rates of Holstein cows showed a substantial decline in the past years, which caused intensive TAI programs for nonpregnant cows to shorten the period between unsuccessful insemination and the next attempt on the same cow. Although many studies examined the improvement in pregnancy rates following TAI, only a few examined the economic impact of such programs. In this study, we look at the feasibility of reproductive programs that included early pregnancy diagnosis performed by transrectal ultrasonography 25 days after artificial insemination (AI) and TAI of nonpregnant cows. This resulted in the following two TAI programs: a modified OvSynch program with a second PGF2α treatment at 24 h interval (GPPG, n = 100) and a modified OvSynch program with an intravaginal progesterone-release device inserted between days 0–7 (PRID + GPPG, n = 100). Cows included in the TAI programs recorded an improvement in the cumulative pregnancy rate (67% vs. 53%; 69% vs. 53%) compared to those in which this strategy was not applied (p < 0.05). An economic analysis was performed using a decision-support tool to estimate the net present value (NPV; USD/cow/year). The analysis revealed a difference in NPV of 89.6 USD/cow/year between the programs (rebreeding the nonpregnant cows following the TAI program vs. AI at detected estrus). In summary, rebreeding the nonpregnant cows after early negative pregnancy diagnosis (25 days after AI) using this strategy can improve the cumulative pregnancy rate and profitability of dairy farms.

Ovarian cysts, estimated as the most frequent ovarian disorder in dairy cattle, can impact the economic aspect and trigger serious loss by affecting the reproductive performance. However, treatment strategies for ovarian cysts in dairy cattle are disputed, as some researchers favour the use of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) for all cysts, whereas others recommend this treatment only for follicular cysts, with prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α) for luteal cysts, but not all of the dairy cattle responded to these regimes. Other studies mention a spontaneous recovery for some of the dairy cattle that present this disorder. However, the Ovsynch protocol appears to be the most used for treating ovarian follicular cysts, despite low pregnancy rates. Thus, this study’s main purpose is to assess by analogy the reproductive efficiency of multiparous dairy cattle with follicular cysts after treatment with a recommended dose of GnRH or a further Ovsynch protocol, and of cattle with luteal cysts after PGF2α or a further 12-day Presynch protocol, by comparing the reproductive responses between treated and non-treated cattle. It is remarkable that ten of the dairy cattle diagnosed with ovarian cysts recovered spontaneously without any hormonal intervention, but the reproductive performance indicates that treatment should be started as soon as the condition is diagnosed. Compared with other studies, our approach improved the conception (82.4% and 64.3%, respectively) and pregnancy rates (53.8% and 50%, respectively) in both follicular and luteal cysts.