Clinical application of a rapid and practical procedure of transabdominal ultrasonography for determination of pregnancy and fetal viability in cows

ObjectiveTo apply a rapid and practical procedure of transabdominal utlrasonography for determination of pregnancy and fetal viability in cows.MethodsThe study was carried out on 104 clinical cases of cows. The cows were examined by rectal palpation and transabdominal ultrasonography in a standing position.ResultsResults showed that determination of pregnancy and fetal viability were obtained significantly faster using transabdominal ultrasonography than rectal palpation. The accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of rectal palpation were 67.4%, 84.8% and 48.8% for detection of pregnancy, and 33.3%, 90.4% and 1.9% for determination of fetal viability, respectively. While these three parameters for transabdominal ultrasonography were 100% for both pregnancy and fetal viability determination. The pregnancy diagnosis was very fast at five months of gestation, and a significant negative but rather good correlation (r= −0.707) was observed between the gestation period and the required time for pregnancy diagnosis. The fetal viability was determined easily and fast at four months of gestation, and there was a significant positive correlation (r=0.32) between the gestation period and the required time for finding the fetal viability.ConclusionTransabdominal ultrasonography is a reliable procedure for determination of pregnancy and fetal viability especially for cows between fourth and sixth months of gestation.