Perioperative evaluation of cows with right abomasal displacement and abomasal volvulus

Clinical, clinicopathological and surgical data from 458 adult dairy cows with right abomasal displacement or abomasal volvulus were analysed to determine the association between these variables and outcome, classified as productive, salvaged or terminal. Heart rate was higher in the salvaged and terminal cattle, than the productive cattle. Hyponatraemia was increasingly severe in the salvaged and terminal cows. All groups of cows were hypochloraemic and hypokalaemic, with the lowest values in the salvaged group. Cows in the productive and salvaged groups had metabolic alkalosis. As the outcome became less favorable there was evidence of superimposed metabolic acidosis with increased anion gap.
The Bovine Practitioner, No. 26 (1991 September)