Short communication: A reproductive tract scoring system to manage fertility in lactating dairy cows.

We developed a reproductive tract size and position score (SPS) system as a reproductive management tool to identify lactating dairy cows with decreased fertility. This system, relying solely on transrectal palpation, considers the size (cervical and uterine) and position of the reproductive tract relative to the pelvis. Cows undergoing pre-breeding exams were identified as having reproductive tracts that were small (SPS1), medium (SPS2), or large (SPS3). Cows designated SPS1 had small and compact uterine horns that rested within the pelvic cavity; SPS2 cows had reproductive tracts that were intermediate in cervical and uterine horn diameter, with longer uterine horns resting partially outside the pelvic cavity; and SPS3 cows had reproductive tracts that were larger and rested mostly outside the pelvic cavity. Cows that were SPS1 had a higher rate of pregnancy per artificial insemination (43.3 ± 3.7%) than cows that were SPS2 (36.9 ± 3.6%) or SPS3 (27.7 ± 4.3%). The percentage of cows with an SPS2 score differed in pregnancies per artificial insemination compared with SPS3 cows. The average days in milk was similar for SPS1, SPS2, and SPS3 cows (104.3 ± 3.5, 98.4 ± 3.4, and 94.7 ± 7.7, respectively). Ultrasound measurements of the uterine horn and cervical diameter, and length measurements of the uterine horns, cervix, and vagina confirmed differences among the SPS groups derived by transrectal palpation. The ease with which transrectal palpation can be used to determine the size and position of the reproductive tract attests to the relevance and usefulness of this scoring system to identify less fertile lactating dairy cows. The ability to do so with ease provides an opportunity to make economically relevant management decisions and maximize reproductive efficiency in a given herd.

Exercise thallium-201 myocardial scintigraphy in the follow-up of aortocoronary bypass graft surgery.

The predictive accuracy of exercise thallium-201 (201Tl) myocardial scintigraphy in the evaluation of aortocoronary bypass graft surgery was assessed in 48 patients undergoing angiographic investigation 15 months (mean time) after myocardial revascularisation. 201Tl scintigrams detected 61 out of 77 (79%) patent grafts but only 21 out of 42 (50%) occluded grafts, though, for grafts supplying non-infarcted myocardium, the predictive accuracy of graft patency and graft occlusion was 85 per cent and 81 per cent, respectively. Stress electrocardiography failed to detect 15 out of 21 patients with scintigraphic evidence of regional myocardial ischaemia. Residual ischaemia in the proximal left anterior descending coronary distribution was commonly detected in 201Tl scintigrams despite a patent, well-functioning left anterior descending graft to the distal coronary segment. Additional residual ischaemia attributable to ungrafted coronary disease was detected by scintigraphy in 32 (67%) patients and most commonly occurred in the distribution of the diagonal branch of the left anterior descending especially in the presence of a patent distal left anterior descending graft. Thus, independent grafts to the diagonal branch of the left anterior descending are recommended at the time of aortocoronary bypass graft surgery.

Cold pressor test in detection of coronary heart-disease and cardiomyopathy using technetium-99m gated blood-pool imaging.

50 normotensive subjects (22 controls with no cardiac disease, 24 patients with coronary heart-disease, and 4 with early cardiomyopathy) were investigated with gated cardiac blood-pool scintigraphy before and during cold pressor stimulation. The controls had no change or a significant rise (p less than 0.005) in left ventricular ejection fraction and preserved normal myocardial-wall motion, whereas patients with coronary-artery disease or cardiomyopathy had a significant fall (p less than 0.001) in left ventricular ejection fraction and many developed abnormal regional wall motion despite the absence of angina pectoris. Cold pressor gated cardiac blood-pool studies were more sensitive than single-lead exercise electrocardiography (p = 0.03) in the detection of patients with severe coronary-artery disease without previous myocardial infarction.