Uterine lavage
Preparing intrauterine antibiotic
Administration of intrauterine antibiotics
Treatment of uterine infections
Treatment of bovine endometritis aims at the:
- Elimination of bacterial infection
- Improvement of uterine contractility
- Prevention of the recurrent infections during the following luteal phase
For a treatment of endometritis flow-chart click on the thumbnail sketchElimination of bacterial infection
Antibiotics used in the treatment of uterine infections have to comply with the criteria described in the table below.
| Criteria | Acute metritis | Clinical and subclinical endometritis |
|---|---|---|
| High activity against main pathogens | E.coli | A.pyogenes F.necrophorum Gram negative anaerobes |
| Recommended formulation and other properties | Injectable: must reach high concentrations in uterine lumen and endometrium Intrauterine: good penetration in the lumen and endometrium, no irritation to endometrium No negative effect on uterine immune cells | Intrauterine: good penetration in the lumen and endometrium, no irritation to endometrium No negative effect on uterine immune cells |
| Withdrawal time - milk | Short or nil | Nil |
| Most often used actives | Oxytetracyclines, ceftiofur, cefquinome | Cefapirin (Metricure), oxytetracyclines |
Intervet recommends Metricure for the treatment of clinical and subclinical endometritis. For more information about the product see the Metricure slide show
Improvement of uterine contractility
- Evacuation of pathological contents of the uterus
Prostaglandins or estrogens are routinely used. Estrogens should not be used as in many countries the use of oestradiol esters is strictly forbidden in food producing animals. - Elimination of immunosuppresive influence of progesterone
Role of prostaglandins in the therapy of uterine infections (Lewis 2004):
- Elimination of corpus luteum:
- improvement of contractility
- elimination of immunosuppressive effect of progesterone - Direct stimulation of the function of immune cells in endometrium
Preventing recurrent infections during the following luteal phase
If prostaglandins alone are used in the treatment of endometritis, clinical improvement can be achieved, some bacteria may however remain in the endometrial crypts. These bacteria will multiply during the next luteal phase when the immune function of the endometrium is decreased due to the effect of progesterone. This leads to relapses of endometritis.
Combination of proper anti-infective therapy and prostaglandins allows not only elimination of existing bacterial infection but also prevents recurrence of the condition in the following cycle.