Toxemia da gestação em cabra associada a corpo estranho no rúmen

Abstract

Background: Pregnancy toxemia is a metabolic disease that occurs in consequence of a disorder on the fatty acids energetic metabolism during periods of your most utilization, affecting mainly small ruminants. Usually it occurs in late pregnancy, where the fast fetal growth increases the energy requirement. On the other hand, the space occupied by the fetus in the abdominal cavity, decreases ruminal capacity. To maintain the energy balance the animal needs more frequent intake of food of high nutritional quality. In small ruminants, an error in the diet plan or a sudden stop feeding, during late pregnancy, are the most common precipitating factors that trigger toxemia of pregnancy. Due to the economic importance of this disease, the presente report describes a case of pregnancy toxemia precipitated by the presence of rumen foreign body ocurred in a doe in the Hospital of Veterinary Clinics (HCV) of Veterinary School of Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. Case: A ten years old Saanen doe weighing 36kg at the end of gestation period showed low body condition, anorexia and ruminal stasis when she arrived at the hospital. The seric level of alkaline phosphatase and β-hidroxybutyrate were 58.51 and 2,11mmol/L, The urine analyses revealed presence of ketone bodies (15 mg/dL) and pH 6.0. The real time ultrasound confirmed pregnancy and the abdominal X-ray revealed a presence of two nails and a linear foreign body of 10cm length in the rumen. Following the doe expelled a dead fetus, progressing to decumbency and death one day after. The post mortem examination showed presence of a fish net and two nails at the ruminal ventral sac and a pale liver. Histological examination of the rumen revealed areas of ulceration and bacterial invasion as well as diffuse liver fatty degeneration. Discussion: Climate change, as well as factors that generate stress, such as treatment with antihelmintics, transport, ambient changes and confinement of unaccustomed animals may induce the onset of the disease. In this case, the clinical and laboratorial data associated with post mortem finds suggested the disease was not directly linked to poor nutrition due to lack of food or overeating, but the finding of foreign body rumen which prevented the animal to have its normal digestive function causing the consumer to stay injured and, until revoked, days prior to death. It is a disease in which there is an increase in ketone bodies (acetone, acetoacetic acid and β-hidroxybutyric acid) as a result of maternal tissues hydrolyze fat. In the early stages of pregnancy toxemia ketone bodies are easily detected in urine, but blood levels are variable. Marked hypoglycemia or severe hyperglycemia terminal are both possible. A metabolite that can be measured is the β-hidroxybutyrate. This is an important metabolite in the biochemical profile in ruminants. Its levels can increase as a consequence of severe energy deficiency due to mobilization of reserve triglycerides and the conversion of fatty acids into ketone bodies. The increase of this metabolite was found in the blood of the doe. The literature mentioned that without treatment the mortality rate of this condition approach 100% and specific disease in herds can achieve an incidence rate enough to be classified as an outbreak.