Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug therapy for neonatal calf diarrhea complex: Effects on calf performance

The aim of this study was to examine the efficacy of meloxicam (MEL) as supportive therapy for calves with neonatal calf diarrhea complex. For this double-blind controlled trial, 62 Holstein male calves were purchased at birth and transported to a research facility. At the naturally occurring onset...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of animal science 2010-06, Vol.88 (6), p.2019-2028
Main Authors: Todd, C.G, Millman, S.T, McKnight, D.R, Duffield, T.F, Leslie, K.E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
animal age
Animal productions
Animals
Animals, Newborn
Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal - pharmacology
Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal - therapeutic use
appetite
Biological and medical sciences
Body Weight - physiology
calf feeding
calves
Cattle
cattle diseases
Cattle Diseases - drug therapy
Cattle Diseases - pathology
diarrhea
Diarrhea - drug therapy
Diarrhea - pathology
Diarrhea - veterinary
Double-Blind Method
drinking water
Eating - physiology
feces
feed intake
feed rations
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Male
males
Meloxicam
milk
mortality
neonatal calf diarrhea complex
neonates
Regression Analysis
signs and symptoms (animals and humans)
starter diets
subcutaneous injection
supportive therapy
Terrestrial animal productions
Thiazines - pharmacology
Thiazines - therapeutic use
Thiazoles - pharmacology
Thiazoles - therapeutic use
Vertebrates
weaning
weaning weight
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Summary:The aim of this study was to examine the efficacy of meloxicam (MEL) as supportive therapy for calves with neonatal calf diarrhea complex. For this double-blind controlled trial, 62 Holstein male calves were purchased at birth and transported to a research facility. At the naturally occurring onset of diarrhea, defined as the first occurrence of a fecal score greater than 2 on a 4-point scale, calves were enrolled in the study. Each calf with diarrhea was randomly assigned to receive a single subcutaneous injection of MEL at a rate of 0.5 mg/kg of BW or an equal volume of placebo (PLA) solution. Milk, starter ration, and water intakes were determined daily for each calf from arrival until 56 d of age. The calves were weighed on arrival and each week thereafter. Time to weaning and weaning weight were recorded for each calf. Crude associations between treatment and each outcome variable were examined using t-tests and Pearson chi-squared tests. Subsequently, multivariable regression models were constructed to examine the impact of MEL therapy on meaningful outcome variables. The primary experimental unit in all analyses was the individual calf. In total, 56 calves presented with clinical signs of diarrhea and were enrolled in the study. Two PLA-treated calves died after being enrolled in the study, and there was no calf mortality among the MEL-treated calves. For calves that developed diarrhea after 10 d of age, MEL-treated calves were more likely to consume their entire daily milk allowance (P < 0.05) as compared with PLA-treated calves. Meloxicam-treated calves began consuming starter ration earlier (P < 0.01) and at a greater rate (P < 0.001), and consumed more water (P < 0.001) compared with PLA-treated animals. Over the study period, calves treated with MEL gained BW at a faster rate (P < 0.01) than calves treated with PLA. There was no difference in weaning weight (P > 0.05), but MEL-treated calves tended to wean earlier (P = 0.11) than PLA-treated calves. These results demonstrate that calves receiving a single injection of MEL at the onset of diarrhea had improved appetite and performance compared with PLA-treated calves. Thus, MEL is an effective supportive therapy for neonatal calf diarrhea complex.
ISSN:0021-8812
1525-3163
DOI:10.2527/jas.2009-2340