"Downer" animal
Animal with prolonged recumbency (>12 hrs) that is persistent and intractable
Etiology
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Myriad of potential causes that include
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Infectious
o
Metabolic
o
Toxic
o
Degenerative disorders
o
Traumatic
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Not by any means an all inclusive list
Can be a considerable source of frustration
Evaluation/Approach
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History
o Reproductive status?
o Diet?
o Environment?
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Recent treatment
o
Length of time recumbent
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Physical examination
o
Visual before animal is approached
o
Area around animal
o Signs of external trauma, riding, etc.
o
Systemic analysis
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Heart rate, respiration, rectal exam
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Be thorough, but remember to first look for the horses, not the zebras
Categories
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Metabolic disease
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Mastitis
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Metritis
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Massive sepsis
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Musculoskeletal/neurologic disease
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Mystery
Severity and duration of above diseases determines whether an animal becomes a "downer"
Metabolic disease
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Hypocalcemia
o Cows that don't respond to IV calcium may have other electrolyte abnormalities ie: phosphorus
o
May become downers due to lack of response, pressure necrosis or injury due to struggling to rise
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Hypokalemia
o
Long-term treatment with corticosteroids may predispose to loss of K
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Hypophosphotemia
o
Probably need lab work to definitively diagnose this
o
Non-responsive milk fever
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Hepatic lipidosis
o
Urine ketones, serum chemistry
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Nervous ketosis
o
Urine ketones, serum chemistry
Mastitis
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Acute, endotoxemia due to gram negative bacterial infection (sometimes Staph.)
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Elevated heart rate, louder than that of milk fever
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May or may not have fever
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Edema and/or heat in affected quarter
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Milk is watery, serum like or blood tinged
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Can see this with gangrenous mastitis in initial stages
Metritis
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Distended uterus, possibly retained membranes
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Foul discharge, brown, watery
