Retrospective analysis of iatrogenic diseases in cattle requiring admission to a veterinary hospital

Abstract

Iatrogenic diseases in veterinary medicine are often related to malpractice or lack of skill. For this retrospective study, 4262 clinical records of cattle admitted to the veterinary teaching hospital of the University of Milan between 2005 and 2017 were analysed, and 121 cases (2.8 per cent), referred for an iatrogenic-related disease, were selected. The findings showed that iatrogenic diseases were more often caused by farmers (92.6per cent) than by bovine practitioners (7.4 per cent). Iatrogenic diseases were caused mainly by the improper administration of drugs (43.0 per cent), forced extraction during calving (19.8 per cent), forced milk or colostrum feeding, which was often performed by awkward administration using a nipple bottle (14.9 per cent) or by oral oesophageal tubing (15.7 per cent). Moreover, farmers often performed medical, nursing and zootechnical procedures without adequate training. The role of the practitioner is fundamental in farmer education. Clinicians, especially in some professional branches such as neonatology, should not delegate medical procedures to untrained farmers. Effective tutoring and good communication with farmers play a key role in dairy herd health and consequently in public health. This then can lead to a decrease in improper drug administration, the prevention of antibiotic resistance and the reduction of treatment costs.

An oesophageal benign stricture: Endoscopy treatment limitation and surgical management in a heifer

“…Although, in this case, the type of oesophageal trauma remains obscure, it is important to consider that the most common cause of oesophageal injuries in cattle is due to the erroneous administration of oral preparations (Mannion et al 1997). Incorrect use of oral devices usually causes pharyngeal lesions or oesophageal foreign bodies (Gomez et al 2014;Sala et al 2019), causing mucosal ulceration that can lead to an oesophageal stenosis (Gomez et al 2014). In some cases, oral devices can be used incorrectly by farmers to give milk to calves with a weak suckle reflex, completely neglecting this condition's real cause (Boccardo et al 2017;Sala et al 2019).…”

“…Incorrect use of oral devices usually causes pharyngeal lesions or oesophageal foreign bodies (Gomez et al 2014;Sala et al 2019), causing mucosal ulceration that can lead to an oesophageal stenosis (Gomez et al 2014). In some cases, oral devices can be used incorrectly by farmers to give milk to calves with a weak suckle reflex, completely neglecting this condition's real cause (Boccardo et al 2017;Sala et al 2019). Oesophageal traumatic injuries are commonly localised in the cervical tract of the oesophagus and can be characterised by different degrees from a mucosal tear to a complete oesophageal perforation (Mannion et al 1997).…”

An exploratory cross-sectional study of the impact of farm characteristics and calf management practices on morbidity and passive transfer of immunity in 202 Chianina beef-suckler calves

“…These results suggest that colostrum feeding assistance on Chianina farms should be substantially improved, focussing on earlier intervention and administration of an adequate volume of colostrum. Although the incorrect use of oral devices can cause pharyngeal or oesophageal lesions (Sala et al 2019), when correctly used, oesophageal feeding has the advantage that relatively large volumes of colostrum can be administrated (McGee and Earley 2019), thus improving and quickening colostrum administration. Contrastingly, it seems necessary to evaluate that most bottle-fed calves were in our enrolled farms' sole stanchion stalls (see supplementary file).…”

Calving-related intradural avulsion injuries of the thoracolumbar spinal nerve roots in a calf

“…It is postulated that, as a consequence, pressure and traction were applied to the lumbar region. Although the most frequent consequence of forced extraction is a fracture, followed by peripheral nerve damage and joint luxation, 10 an acute spinal cord injury also occurs, associated with vertebral fracture and luxation. Common sites of vertebral fracture in calves at calving are the C2–4, T10–13, and L3–6 vertebrae.…”