Abstract: Background- Conditions that present as abdominal emergencies in dairy cattle are frequent. Decisions regarding diagnostic and treatment are challenging. Prognosis remains difficult to estimate. Hypothesis/Objectives - Describe the clinical presentation and outcome of abdominal emergencies in dairy cows admitted to a referral hospital. Methods- Retrospective study. Review of medical records of dairy cows admitted between 2016 and 2021 for an abdominal emergency. Definition included: decreased or absent fecal production and/or visceral or parietal pain and duration of less than 7 days. Data regarding history, physical examination, bloodwork, treatment, diagnosis, and outcome were studied. Descriptive statistics were performed. Results- Two hundred and thirty-seven cows were enrolled. Fifty-eight percent (129/222) were in the first 3 months of lactation. The most common clinical signs were dehydration (65%, 155/237), decrease or absence of feces (62%, 146/237), tachycardia (54%, 128/237) and parietal pain (41%, 96/237). A median lactate of 4.3 mmol/L, chloride of 95 mmol/L and ionized calcium of 1.06 mmol/L were present at admission. Of the cows that were treated, 55% (125/226) underwent surgery. Final diagnosis consisted of small intestinal disorders (32%, 76/237), peritonitis (27%, 63/237), abomasal disorders (25%, 60/237), large intestinal disorders (5%, 13/237) and others (10%, 25/237). Sixty-nine percent of the admitted cattle were discharged from the hospital, of which 65% and 58% were alive after 2 and 6 months, respectively. Conclusions and Clinical Importance- The majority of cows was in early-lactation. Abdominal pain was predominantly parietal. About half of the cases were treated only medically. The overall prognosis was fair.
