Use of hysteroscopy for the diagnosis of postpartum clinical endometritis in dairy cows

Abstract

CLINICAL endometritis is one of the most common disorders in dairy cows, causing decreased fertility and large economic losses (LeBlanc 2008). The condition can be defined as an inflammation of the endometrium with uterine exudate, varying from clear mucus with flecks of pus to purulent discharge in the vagina, 21 days or more postpartum (Sheldon and others 2006). The common methods of diagnosis of clinical endometritis, rectal palpation and vaginal examination (LeBlanc and others 2002, Sheldon and others 2002), provide little information about inflammation of the endometrium itself. Thus, false-positive findings (for example, in cases of vaginitis) or false-negative findings (where endometritis is not detected) may sometimes occur. Subclinical endometritis is defined as the presence of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) in the endometrium of cows without uterine discharge (Sheldon and others 2006). For the diagnosis of subclinical endometritis, endometrial cells can be obtained with the cytobrush or low-volume flush techniques (Kasimanickam and others 2004, Gilbert and others 2005, Galvão and others 2009).