A randomized controlled trial examining the effects of treatment with propylene glycol and injectable cyanocobalamin on naturally occurring disease, milk production, and reproductive outcomes of dairy cows diagnosed with concurrent hyperketonemia and hypoglycemia

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess the effects of treatment with propylene glycol (PG) and cyanocobalamin (B12) on health, milk production, and reproductive outcomes of cows diagnosed with hyperketonemia (HK), hypoglycemia (HG), or concurrent HKHG. Glucose and β-hydroxybutyric acid (BHBA) concentrations were assessed in whole blood using a handheld device in lactating dairy cows (n = 2,418) between 3 and 9 d postpartum. Cows categorized as HK (n = 232, BHBA ≥1.2 mmol/L), HG (n = 161, glucose ≤2.2 mmol/L), and concurrent HKHG (n = 204, BHBA ≥1.2 mmol/L, and glucose ≤2.2 mmol/L) were randomized to receive treatment or to remain untreated (control). Treatment consisted of a single dose of B12 (10 mg, intramuscularly) and 300 mL of PG orally for 5 d, starting on the day of cow-side testing. Milk production, health, and reproductive outcomes were analyzed according to groups. Statistical analysis was carried out using SAS version 9.4 (SAS/STAT, SAS Institute Inc.). Treatment in HG cows decreased clinical ketosis, increased milk production in the fifth week of lactation for multiparous cows, and tended to increase 305-d mature-equivalent milk yield (305ME) for primiparous cows compared with untreated cows with the same metabolic profile. For cows with HKHG, treatment increased 305ME in multiparous cows and tended to increase 305ME in primiparous cows. No differences were found for treatment among any of the metabolic groups regarding reproductive outcomes, nor were any treatment effects found among HK cows.Glycemic status may help identify metabolically challenged early postpartum dairy cows, which may have differential response to PG and B12 treatment.

Characterization of metabolic profile, health, milk production, and reproductive outcomes of dairy cows diagnosed with concurrent hyperketonemia and hypoglycemia

“…Previous work has shown that hyperketonemic cows took longer to become pregnant than cows without hyperketonemia (Walsh et al, 2007;Barletta et al, 2017). The fact that we did not find a difference may have been because our HK cows were divided into treated and not treated in the concurrent study (Hubner et al, 2022) and only nontreated cows were used for this analysis, reducing the power to find a difference. If treated and nontreated cows were analyzed together, our results would be consistent with previous findings.…”

“…Sample Size. A sample size calculation was conducted for the companion paper (Hubner et al, 2022) to detect a difference in milk production between treated and untreated cows. Briefly, power analyses were performed using G Power 3 (Universität Düsseldorf).…”

“…Nonetheless, our data suggest that HK appears to be more harmful in terms of milk production for multiparous cows than primiparous cows. However, because our sample size was calculated based on treatment effects for the companion paper (Hubner et al, 2022) and not specifically for this observational study, caution is warranted when drawing conclusions, especially for results regarding reproductive outcomes and for differences between milk production of primiparous and multiparous cows.…”

“…This study was conducted on 3 commercial dairy farms: 2 in northern Illinois (farms A and B) and 1 in southern Wisconsin (farm C), which were visited weekly from August 2020 to August 2021. These farms were chosen because they were willing to participate in treatment of a portion of cows detected with metabolic disturbances (Hubner et al, 2022). All 3 herds were enrolled in regular DHIA, and farms A and C also had daily milk weights recorded.…”

Nutrición animal: Texto de formación universitaria

“…por vía intravenosa administrada una vez en el momento de la detección de la cetosis clínica, la inyección de intramuscular de vitamina B12 (10 mg) y la administración oral de 300 mL de propilen glicol 100% v/v durante 5 días (Hubner et al, 2022).…”