Pharyngeal trauma in dairy cattle: 27 cases.

Background: Characterization of the clinical signs, response to treatment and prognosis can be useful information for decision-making when evaluating cattle with pharyngeal trauma.

Objective: To describe the signalment, history, clinicopathologic, endoscopic, ultrasonographic, radiographic, and postmortem findings as well as treatments and outcomes of cattle diagnosed with pharyngeal perforation/trauma.

Animals: Review of medical records of cattle >1 month of age admitted to a Veterinary Teaching Hospital from 1995 to 2017.

Methods: Retrospective study. Review of medical records of cattle with pharyngeal perforation/trauma identified by oral or endoscopic examination in hospital setting.

Results: Twenty-seven out of 7550 (0.36%) cases met the inclusion criteria. Pharyngeal perforation/trauma was associated with the administration of a bolus in 24 (89%) cows and a magnet in 3 (11%) cases. The boluses contained monensin (n = 12), calcium salts (n = 5), iodine (n = 1), aspirin (n = 1), vitamins (n = 1), and an unknown product (n = 4). The primary clinical signs were dysphagia, swelling of the throatlatch, subcutaneous emphysema, swelling, and pain on palpation of the throatlatch. Seventeen (63%) cows were discharged whereas 10 (37%) were euthanized. Median time between the suspected traumatic event and hospital admission was 1 day (range: 0.5-3 days) and 2 days (range: 0.5-15) for surviving and nonsurviving cattle, respectively. All 5 cows that suffered pharyngeal trauma associated with administration of calcium salt bolus were euthanized.

Conclusions And Clinical Importance: Pharyngeal trauma is a rare condition in cattle. Case fatality rate increases if not diagnosed and treated promptly. The nature of the penetrating foreign body influences the outcome.