Monitoring of the ketosis in the dairy cows in periparturient period with laboratory and stable methods

Ketosis is a serious metabolic disease in high-producing dairy cows. It causes not only other health problems but also economic losses. The aims of the study were to monitor the ketosis (especially according to blood beta-hydroxybutyrate concentration) and to draw a comparison between the hand-held device measuring with the laboratory methods. There were included 16 Holstein dairy cows in the trial. The animals were divided into two groups according to the Body Condition Score (BCS) - lower BCS group (BCS <= 3.5; n = 8) and higher BCS group (BCS >= 3.75; n = 8). Cows were observed once a week in almost 3 months. The first blood samples were collected by coccygeal venipuncture 2-3 weeks before the parturition (concentrations of triglycerides - TAG, non-esterified fatty acids - NEFA, beta-hydroxybutyrate - BHB, total bilirubin - BILI, and activity of aspartate aminotransferase - AST and gamma-glutamyl transferase - GGT were determined). Another blood metabolic profile test was done at the end of the experiment that means 2 months after calving. In addition, the values of BHB and glucose (GLU) were measured by the FreeStyle Optium Neo hand-held device every week after calving till the end of the trial. According to the trial results, the higher concentrations of BHB were observed in the lower BCS group in the 2nd and 3rd week after parturition. Also, the low levels of glucose were observed in the lower BCS animals. The high correlation between laboratory and hand-held device measuring was calculated (r = 0.94, P < 0.01). The levels of most biochemical parameters were increased after parturition in both lower and higher BCS group. The incidence of ketosis was similar in both groups of cows.