The use of the glutaraldehyde test for detection of uterine inflammatory processes in cows in the recent puerperium

• Grant number: 25/10596-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2025
• End date: July 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Clinics and Surgery
• Principal Investigator: Eduardo Harry Birgel Junior
• Grantee: Braian Rombaldo de Oliveira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Zootecnia e Engenharia de Alimentos (FZEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Pirassununga , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Inflammatory processes are difficult to evaluate in the physical examination of cattle, and laboratory tests are extremely important to complement the physical examination of the animal, helping in the diagnosis and prognosis of the patient. The glutaraldehyde test is very effective and efficient for early diagnosis of inflammation in cattle, being a quick diagnostic test for inflammation that can be carried out in the field. The present study aims to verify the effectiveness of the glutaraldehyde test in detecting inflammatory processes that occur in the recent puerperium and associated with uterine inflammatory diseases and to verify whether it can be used as a predictor of the need for additional treatments in cows diagnosed with retention. of fetal appendages and acute puerperal metritis. In this research, 100 Holstein cows (Bos taurus taurus) will be used, coming from Farm São José and cared for by the Cattle and Small Ruminants Clinic of the Veterinary Hospital of the Faculty of Zootechnics and Food Engineering of the University of São Paulo, sub- divided into 5 experimental groups: Group 1 - 20 healthy cows; Group 2 - 20 cows with retained fetal annexes that did not present hyperthermia and a drop in milk production; Group 3 - 20 cows with retained fetal annexes that presented hyperthermia and a drop in milk production (with signs of the presence of a toxic-infectious and inflammatory process); Group 4 - 20 cows with acute puerperal metritis that did not present hyperthermia and a drop in milk production; Group 5 - 20 cows with acute puerperal metritis that presented hyperthermia and decreased milk production (with signs of the presence of a toxic-infectious and inflammatory process). The animals will be evaluated through clinical examination, ultrasound evaluations and laboratory analyzes in the first days postpartum in order to establish the diagnosis of illnesses, as well as laboratory tests to demonstrate the existence and degree of the toxic-infectious process and inflammatory disease associated with retention of fetal annexes and acute puerperal metritis. (AU)