Diagnosing postpartum endometritis in dairy cattle
I. Martin Sheldon
Abstract
Postpartum endometritis is a common cause of infertility in dairy cattle (Fig 1).Most veterinarians can confidently examine the female reproductive tract to discriminate between a cow with endometritis and a normal cow.However, veterinarians are less confident when asked what defines a case of endometritis, how to diagnose the disease, when after calving to make the diagnosis, and how sure they are that their method of diagnosis is accurate?These challenges are highlighted in a study by Kusaka and co-authors, comparing three methods for diagnosing postpartum endometritis, which is summarized on page XXX of this week's issue of the Veterinary Record. 1 The key finding was that between two and six weeks after calving there was