Objective: To describe the clinical, laboratory, and ultrasonographic findings; treatment; and outcome of cattle with mesenteric torsion (MT).
Animals: 61 cattle with MT between November 1, 1986, and December 31, 2019.
Methods: Medical records were retrospectively reviewed. Results were compared for cattle that survived versus did not survive to hospital discharge.
Results: All cattle had abnormal demeanor. The most common clinical signs were tachycardia (80.3% [49/61]), tachypnea (65.0% [39/60]), and lower rectal temperature (59.3% [35/59]). Signs of colic occurred in 65.6% (40/61). The most common gastrointestinal findings were an empty or almost empty rectum (100% [59/59]), reduced or absent motility of the small intestines (96.6% [57/59]) or rumen (93.2% [55/59]), positive ballottement and/or percussion and simultaneous auscultation on the right side (91.7% [55/60]), and dilated small (49.2% [29/59]) and large intestines (spiral colon and/or cecum, 44.1% [26/59]) detected during transrectal examination. The most common laboratory findings were acidosis (82.6%, [38/46]) hypermagnesemia (74.5% [35/47]). Ultrasonographic findings included reduced or absent small intestinal motility (86.7% [26/30]) and dilated small intestines (83.8% [31/37]). The spiral colon was dilated in 32.4% (12/37) of the cattle. Eighty-two percent (50/61) of the cattle underwent right flank laparotomy and the MT could be reduced in 34.4% (21/61). Twenty-three percent (14/61) of the cattle survived to hospital discharge, and 77.0% (47/61) were euthanized before hospital discharge.
Clinical relevance: Dilated small and large intestines (spiral colon, cecum) combined with a severely abnormal demeanor and tachycardia are characteristic findings in cows with MT. Immediate surgical treatment is paramount.
Keywords: Cattle; ileus; large intestine; mesenteric torsion; small intestine.