Clinical Utility of Lactate in Calves with Bovine Respiratory Disease

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical utility of lactate level in calves with Bovine Respiratory Diseases (BRD). About 28 calves with bronchopneumonia (trial group) and 20 healthy (control group) were used in this study. While 18 calves in the trial group recovered, 10 of them died in the first 24 h. It was determined that plasma lactate values of these 10 animals were significantly higher (p<0.01) than those of the recovered ones. Consequently, it has been concluded that the level of plasma lactate measurements in calves with BRD is a helpful prognostic parameter in veterinary practice.