Influence of time of initiation of a prostaglandin F2α protocol in dairy cows with puerperal endometritis.

A field trial was conducted to elucidate the effect of the time of initiation of a repeated PGF(2 alpha)-application in a 14 day interval for treatment of endometritis in dairy cows. On a commercial dairy farm in Brandenburg, Germany, a total of 494 dairy cows were examined by rectal palpation and adspection for signs of endometritis (vaginal discharge, enlarged uterus) between day 20 to 26 postpartum (dpp). We performed two further examinations by rectal palpation and external adspection to monitor the puerperal phase (34.-40. dpp, 55.-61. dpp). All cows with symptoms of an endometritis were treated with PGF(2 alpha) (0,15 mg R-Cloprostenol, Preloban (R), Intervet Deutschland GmbH Unterschlei beta heim) twice in a 14-day interval. In the group "Early" (n = 146) the first injection of Cloprostenol was administered at time of the 1(st) examination. In the group "Late" (n = 129) an identical treatment was administered in cows with endometritis, however it was started 14 days later (34.-40. dpp). The incidence of endometritis was 57.7% in the group "Early" and 53.5% in the group "Late" at the first time of examination. The 1(st) service conception rates for treated cows were 34% in the group "Early" vs. 37% in the group "Late". In the group "Early" differences were found in days open between treated cows with endometritis and untreated controls without symptoms of endometritis (99.1 d vs. 110.8 d, p > 0.05). In the group "Late", days open for treated (106.8 d) and untreated cows (108.0 d) were similar. The severity of endometritis influenced the percentage of cows pregnant at 200 dpp. Regarding cows with a severe endometritis (E2 und E3) the percentage of pregnant cows 200 dpp was higher in the group treated early (E2: 78.4%; E3: 80.0%) than in the group with the late initiation of the treatment (E2: 68.6%; E3: 54.5%, p < 0.05). Cows with a moderate endometritis (E1) ad a similar percentage of pregnant cows (200 dpp) as the untreated cows without endometritis. It is concluded that application of PGF(2 alpha) in the 4(th) and 6(th) week post partum in a 14 day interval in cases of severe endometritis is more effective than the application of the same treatment two weeks later.