Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Most coagulation studies in bovine species have investigated, using direct or
indirect methods, plasmatic factor activity. For example, some have described
hemostasis in specific physiologic conditions such as pregnancy or peripartum
(Heuwieser et al.
1990
) or within the first month of life of the calf (Gentry et al.
1994
). Among the most common coagulation disorders are hypocoagulability
conditions that may be congenital, for example, plasma factor deficiency, or
acquired, for example, toxic, carential, or immune-mediated (Radostis
2007
). In
addition, disseminated intravascular coagulation has been associated with aboma-
sal displacement (Sobiech et al.
2008
), septic shock (Irmak et al.
2006
), and
traumatic reticuloperitonitis (Gokce et al.
2007
). Reports on hypercoagulability
conditions are scarce. Hypercoagulability is a sequela of acquired systemic
disease (Pusterla et al.
1997
;D'Angeloetal.
2006
), and a congenital predisposi-
tion to thrombophilia is unknown in cattle (Gentry
2004
). Recently, a hypercoag-
ulable state following steroidal drug administration in calves was detected by
TEM (Borrelli et al.
2009
). The use of TEM, also in cattle, could be helpful for the
simultaneous evaluation of hemostatic components, early detection of hypercoagula-
bility, and hyperfibrinolysis, all of which may be difficult to diagnose with conven-
tional tests.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the analytical performance of TEM in adult
cattle and veal calves and to define normal reference ranges in these animals.
15.2 Materials and Methods
The study population was 62 animals: 48 adult cattle (mean age, 23 months; range,
11-135 months) and 14 Holstein-Friesian veal calves (all males; age, 6 months).
The adult animals were 15 Piedmontese females and 33 males of different breeds
(five Charolais, two Piedmontese, and 26 Holstein-Friesian). All animals were
judged healthy according to physical examination, complete blood count (CBC),
and blood biochemistry. Cattle that had received pharmacological treatment within
the month before the beginning of the study or were noted to have spontaneous
bleeding, in the final month of pregnancy, or in the first month after calving were
excluded. Blood samples were drawn from the jugular vein with 20-gauge needles
and collected separately into EDTA-containing tubes for CBC (ADVIA 120 Hema-
tology System, Siemens Diagnostics), 3.8% sodium citrate tubes for TEM
(ROTEM
®
, TEM Innovations GMBH) and coagulation profile (coagulometer
STart
®
, Diagnotica Stago), and tubes with clot activator for blood biochemistry
(Ilab300plus, Instrumentation Laboratory).
Thromboelastometric analyses were carried out in the field within 15 min after
blood collection, and the in-TEM
®
, ex-TEM
®
, fib-TEM
®
, and na-TEM
®
profiles
were performed according to the manufacturer's instructions. The following
parameters were evaluated for each coagulation profile: clotting time [(CT), s], clot
