Traumatic pericarditis: why and symptoms occur, treatment of cattle

Purulent inflammation of the pericardium (pericardial sac) due to injury is quite often observed in cows and other cattle. The pathological process entails serious consequences for the life and he alth of the animal, including death. The situation is aggravated by the fact that the treatment is practically of no benefit. Therefore, special attention should be paid to the prevention of traumatic pericarditis.

What is disease?

This disease is a complex inflammatory process that covers the pericardial sac and surrounding tissues.The provoking factor is the injury received by the animal in contact with foreign objects. They most often enter the body of a cow along with feed. The pericardium is a cavity that surrounds the heart and serves as a protective barrier against infection and inflammation.

Sharp edges of objects damage the walls of the stomach and penetrate through it into the blood. They move through the vessels to the heart and other organs, also injuring them (the liver and lungs may suffer). However, the end goal is always the heart, as the blood moves towards it. The resulting wound serves as a gateway for the penetration of infection, as a result of which inflammatory processes begin in the tissues.

The heart muscle contracts and pushes the foreign body even deeper, thereby damaging the middle and outer shell of the organ. Since the vessels are injured when the object moves, a large amount of blood accumulates between the pericardium and the heart. The pressure on the organ increases, causing it to stop and the animal dies.

Inflammation provokes hemorrhage, swelling, as a result of which the heart sac is filled with exudate. The volume of liquid can reach 30-40 liters. The nature of the discharge is as follows:

purulent;
serous;
hemorrhagic;
serous fibrous.

The consequence of these processes is a slowdown in blood flow, squeezing the lungs, malfunctioning of the heart, irritation of nerve fibers (the cow is in pain), an increase in the body temperature of the animal. With the release of serous-fibrous fluid and its entry into the pericardium, fibrin remains on the walls of the pericardial sac and the outer shell of the heart, forming layers of layers.

An increase in their number leads to the fusion of the membranes, which puts even more stress on the animal's organ.

Why disease occurs

Factors contributing to the development of the disease are as follows:

Injury to the pericardial sac by a foreign body with sharp edges. Such an object can be a needle, wire, nail. The animal swallows them along with the food when it grazes on polluted pastures.
Ingress of a foreign body from the outside through a wound that the animal could have received during a skirmish with relatives.
Injury to the sternum. As a result of its deformation, the ribs can break and injure the pericardial sac and nearby tissues with a sharp edge.

In each case, the condition of the cow is aggravated due to concomitant factors, namely: intra-abdominal pressure increases under the influence of such processes:

birth;
great physical activity;
powerful blow to the abdomen;
overeating;
fall belly down.

Signs and symptoms

Symptomatology varies depending on the form of the disease:

spicy;
subacute;
chronic.

In addition, the course of pericarditis is divided into two phases:

dry (initial stage with no discharge);
effusion (formed purulent discharge).

Acute dry pericarditis is characterized by the following symptoms:

High heart rate.
Strengthening of the heart (shocks become more powerful).
Heart murmur. Reminds crackling, scratching, friction. Its source is the pericardium, the inflamed sheets of which touch each other during contractions. With a very pronounced course of the disease, this symptom can be detected by palpation of the chest.

At this stage, there is severe pain. The activity of the animal decreases as the cow tries not to make sudden movements.

To relieve pressure on her heart, she arches her back as much as possible and spreads her legs wide.

Over time, the pathology passes into the effusion stage, which is characterized by:

the sound of friction changes to a splash (this means that the pericardial sac is filled with fluid - pus and other secretions);
heartbeat increases even more, but the sound of blows becomes muffled;
animal stops feeling pain;
leaves no longer rub against each other - now they are separated by liquid.

The further course of the disease in a cow leads to the following consequences:

exudate continues to accumulate;
pressure on the heart increases, which prevents the expansion of the organ - blood does not fill the ventricles, stagnation occurs, blood circulation is disturbed.

At this stage, the animal shows symptoms:

Lower blood pressure.
Shortness of breath.
Liver enlargement.
Rapid heartbeat becomes constant.
Possible bronchitis.
Feeling of pain that makes the cow move very cautiously, lying down and getting up with difficulty (first the chest rises, and then the rest of the body).
Decrease or lack of appetite in the animal.
Decrease in milk yield.
During movement, the cow groans.
Swelling of the neck, chest area.
Cow feels pain on palpation of sternum.

Diagnosis

Traumatic pericarditis in a cow is diagnosed by a veterinarian based on:

listening to the heart (presence of murmurs, tachycardia, increased tremors);
palpation (the cow is in pain at this point);
outward signs of illness (swelling, change in animal behavior);
X-ray (shows an increase in the body, its immobility);
puncture (in difficult cases) - done on the left side in the quarter intercostal space;
lab tests (leukocytosis, lymphopenia, eosinopenia).

It is important to distinguish traumatic pericarditis in a cow from pleurisy, dropsy, myocarditis, endocarditis. Dropsy in the animal proceeds painlessly, with pleurisy, the noises coincide with breathing. Myocarditis and endocarditis are characterized by specific symptoms.

Rules for the treatment of traumatic bovine pericarditis

The treatment of this disease does not give a positive effect, so the animal is sent for slaughter. However, in some cases it is still possible to achieve some results. Therapy involves the following:

The animal is provided with complete rest.
Transfer to dietary feed (grass, hay, liquid bran mixtures).
When refusing to eat, the cow is force-fed through artificial feeding.

Treatment is carried out in three directions:

removal of exudate;
removal of sepsis;
restoration of the heart.

The specific actions of the veterinarian are as follows:

An ice bag is applied and secured to the sternum of the animal.
Inject glucose into a vein (use of drugs that normalize the functioning of the heart is undesirable, as they worsen the condition of the body).
Sulfanilamide and other antibiotics are used (against sepsis), as well as diuretics (to remove exudate from the animal's body).
Given a subcutaneous injection of sodium salicylate.
At the end of the course of treatment, the condition of the cow is closely monitored. If the disease returns, the animal is culled. Only sometimes they resort to surgery to remove a foreign body from the body of a cow.

Prevention

Key prevention measures include:

Checking pet food for metal foreign objects using magnets (food is passed through special installations).
Instead of tying the pieces of a broken tether with wire, you need to purchase a new one.
Hay is usually wrapped with wire, so it must be unpacked very carefully.
Check animals regularly with a magnetic probe (there is a chance to remove wire or other metal objects in time).
Requires lick prevention (the animal starts to eat everything). To do this, the daily menu of cows is saturated with vitamin and mineral supplements.
Systematic examination of animals by a veterinarian.
Check pasture for debris before pasture.

Traumatic pericarditis is a dangerous and widespread disease of cattle, which in most cases leads to the death of the animal. Correct conditions of detention and timely preventive measures will help prevent the occurrence of pathology.