An ultrasonographic study of bovine cystic ovarian disease and its treatment
Jeffcoate, I.A.; Ayliffe, T.R.
Veterinary Record 136(16): 406-410
1995
ISSN/ISBN: 0042-4900 PMID: 7625056 Document Number: 445653
This study assessed the value of ultrasonography in characterizing bovine cystic ovaries and monitoring their responses to different treatments. Thirteen cows were diagnosed by ultrasonography as having luteinized ovarian cysts and 7 were diagnosed as having follicular ovarian cysts. Six of the former were treated with prostaglandin, 4 with a progesterone intravaginal device (PRID) and 3 with gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (Gn-RH); 5 of the 7 cows with follicular cysts were treated with Gn-RH and 2 with a PRID. All the animals were re-examined by ultrasound and blood was collected for the measurement of plasma progesterone concentration at intervals until oestrus. The treatment of the luteinized cysts with prostaglandin caused marked decreases in size and plasma progesterone concentration and altered their echotexture within 2 to 4 days; oestrus occurred within 3 to 4 days. In 2 of the cows treated with a PRID the cysts regressed within one to 2 weeks but the other 2 cows required supplementary treatment with prostaglandin; oestrus and ovulation were observed only after the cysts collapsed. Gn-RH stimulated oestrus and ovulation within 3 to 4 days but the cysts did not collapse until much later. The treatment of the follicular cysts with Gn-RH or a PRID caused fresh ovulation and the formation of a corpus luteum but had little immediate effect upon the cyst. The plasma progesterone concentrations in some of the cows with either follicular or luteal cysts were similar on the day of treatment and were of little value in differentiating they types of cyst. However, plasma progesterone concentration was a useful adjunct to the ultrasound interpretation of the function of the cysts.