Correlation of serum IgG concentration in foals and refractometry index of the dam's pre- and post-parturient colostrums: an assessment for failure of passive transfer in foals.

The object of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of measuring the differences in the values of the serum total protein (DVSTP) concentration of foals and the refractometry index (DVRI) of the milk of dams before and after nursing of the colostrum for assessing failure of passive transfer (FPT) in foals. Serum samples from 31 foals were collected before the first nursing and other 1 to 6 times between 4 and 24 hr after birth. Paired colostrum and milk samples were collected from 14 of their dams at the same time. Serum samples were analyzed for IgG concentration using a single radial immunodiffusion (SRID) test (98 samples) and total protein concentration using a temperature-compensating refractometer (98 samples). Colostrum and milk samples were analyzed for refractometry index (RI) using a Brix refractometer (71 samples). DVSTP concentration and DVRI were significantly correlated with serum IgG concentration. The negative predictive values (NPVs) of DVSTP concentration for detecting serum IgG concentrations<400 mg/dl and<800 mg/dl were 98.2% and 91.3% when the cutoff value is set to 0.4 mg/dl and 0.8 mg/dl, respectively. Furthermore, the NPVs of DVRI for detecting serum IgG concentrations<400 mg/dl and<800 mg/dl were 97.3% and 96.3% when the cutoff value is set to 6% and 10%, respectively. The results suggest that measurement of DVRI is useful in assessing FPT as an initial "stall-side" screening test, because it is easy, inexpensive to perform and allows for rapid interpretation.

Assessment for predicting parturition in mares based on prepartum temperature changes using a digital rectal thermometer and microchip transponder thermometry device.

The purpose of this study was to observe the changes in body temperature before parturition using a wireless temperature monitoring device (WTMD) and to evaluate the usefulness of body temperature measurements using a digital rectal thermometer (DRT) and a microchip transponder thermometry device (MTTD) for predicting parturition in mares. The body temperatures using a WTMD at 0 hr and -1 hr were significantly different from those at the same time on Days 1-5 (P<0.01). The temperature differences between the morning of Day 0 and at -3 hr, -2 hr, -1 hr and 0 hr using the DRT and MTTD showed a significant drop compared with the temperature differences between the morning and evening of Days 1-5 (P<0.05). Furthermore, when the cutoff value of the temperature differences between the morning and other times was set to ≤0, the sensitivities of the DRT and MTTD in the evening of Day 0 and at -3 hr were 43% and 100% and 71% and 86%, respectively. The results suggested that monitoring the body temperature differences between morning and within 3 hr before the time of parturition is a valuable method for predicting parturition in mares. Conversely, this method would be more useful in predicting parturition when used in combination with other observations such as the mammary gland size and waxing of the teat ends because it has nearly a 20% probability of false-positive results prior to the day of parturition.