Attention should be paid to postpartum hypocalcemia in raising dogs

Postpartum hypocalcemia, also known as postpartum eclampsia, postpartum tetany or lactation convulsions, is a serious metabolic disorder after childbirth in female dogs. The disease is characterized by myotonic spasms caused by hypocalcemia and abnormal motor nerve excitation, accompanied by symptoms such as increased respiratory count. The disease is a paroxysmal disease that occurs mostly in small dogs or medium-sized high-yielding bitches 10 to 20 days after delivery. At present, domestic diagnosis and treatment of this disease technology is relatively mature, treatment effect is also relatively ideal, the basic idea is symptomatic treatment and calcium supplementation. In the course of treatment of 5 cases, the concentration of calcium ion was monitored in order to find out the relationship between calcium ion concentration and clinical symptoms, and provide reference for clinical work.

1 Clinical symptoms

Postpartum hypocalcemia occurs frequently in high-yielding bitches 10~25 days after delivery, and sick dogs often have sudden onset without warning. The initial symptoms of the disease are restlessness, decreased appetite, sensitivity to external stimuli, repeated chewing and swallowing, abnormal consciousness, but there is a reaction when breathing, and the body temperature rises to above 40℃. Then the performance is rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, heart sound enhancement, eyeball upturn, movement step hesitation, step-like strong arrest, general tremor, muscle rigidity, intermittent or continuous spasm, late serious lying down or even angular arch anti-tension, a large number of salivation at the mouth, body temperature continued to rise to 43℃ above.

2 Determination of whole blood calcium ion concentration

Add 0.2ml sodium hydroxide into 2.5ml whole blood of dogs Ⅰ, Ⅱ and Ⅲ respectively, add 2 drops of calcium indicator and mix, titrate with EDTANa2 until it is light blue, and record the consumption of EDTANa2 concentration respectively. The serum calcium concentrations of dogs Ⅰ, Ⅱ and Ⅲ were 5.4 mg/100ml, 5.9 mg/100ml and 6.8 mg/100ml respectively.

3 treatment

3.1 calcium supplementation

For dogs with severe spasticity (such as dog I), add 20ml of 10% calcium gluconate to 200ml of 5% glucose injection, and inject slowly intravenously at a rate of 1~ 3ml/min (or intravenous drip). At the same time, vitamin B1 and vitamin C were added into the injection solution 2~3ml respectively, vitamin D3 and 200 000 IU were injected intramuscularly, 2ml whole blood was drawn 15 minutes and 25 minutes later respectively, and the concentration of whole blood calcium ion was determined in the laboratory according to the whole blood calcium ion concentration determination method. Generally, the dog can stand and walk after infusion, and other conditions return to normal. On the second day, 10ml of 10% calcium gluconate and 100ml of 5% glucose injection are infused again until recovery.

For dogs with mild spasms and long intervals (5~6 minutes), 10% calcium gluconate (10ml) was injected into 5% glucose solution (100ml), vitamin B 1 (2~ 3ml) and vitamin C (2~ 3ml) were injected intravenously on the same day, and vitamin D 3 (200,000 lu) was injected intramuscularly. After 15 minutes, the spasms disappeared. On the second day, calcium supplement 5ml was added until recovery.

3.2 symptomatic and adjuvant therapy

① The sedative chlorpromazine 2~4mg/kg body weight was injected intramuscularly to the dogs with severe convulsions and spasms (No.1 dog).② Appropriate magnesium ion supplement, such as intravenous injection of 2.5% magnesium sulfate 2~5ml (dissolved in 200ml normal saline or Ringer's solution) to maintain the balance of calcium ion and magnesium ion concentration in dogs, and to alleviate convulsions and spasms in dogs. 3. Aminopyrine 2~4ml intramuscular injection can be used in patients with hyperthermia.④ After remission, take vitamin D500~10001u orally every day.

3.3 Prevention of secondary infections

Ampicillin 1~3g intravenous or intramuscular injection, but should pay attention to allergies.

4 results

After the above treatment, 5 cases of dogs were cured.

5 Prevention

5.1 Daily feeding some bone soup, vegetables and other foods containing more calcium ions and vitamins, especially after pregnancy to feed meat-based dogs, need to add appropriate amount of calcium ions to the food. According to the data, 0.5~1g calcium carbonate should be added for every 1.00g meat fed.

5.2 After the female dog is sick, the puppy should be isolated as much as possible, and the puppies should be artificially breastfed to improve the nutrition of the female dog and promote the recovery of body condition.

5.3 Vitamin D3 was injected intramuscularly on the day of onset, 300,000 lu, repeated at intervals of 2 weeks.

5.4 Take Vitamins Colloidal Calcium Tablets orally, 2 tablets each time, once daily for 7 days.

6 Discussion

6.1 The prominent feature of hypocalcemia in bitches was elevated body temperature (in all 5 cases). Clinical observation showed that when convulsions and spasms appeared, most of the body temperature rose to 41~42.5℃, the highest was 43.5℃, which was obviously different from the symptoms of calcium deficiency in other animals after delivery, which was determined by the physiological characteristics of dogs. Calcium ions in the blood are not only involved in skeletal muscle metabolism, but also participate in the normal conduction of nerve impulses. When the blood calcium is reduced, the excitability of nerves and muscles is enhanced, causing convulsions and spasms, and a large amount of heat is produced. However, due to the underdeveloped sweat glands of dogs, heat can only be dissipated through respiration and saliva evaporation, resulting in a large accumulation of heat in the body for a short time, resulting in high fever and a large number of salivation symptoms.

6.2 The disease often occurs in high-yielding bitches 10 to 20 days postpartum, and the affected dog suddenly develops, which is often confused with hypoglycemia, neurogenic canine distemper and vitamin B1 deficiency in bitches. To confirm the diagnosis and ensure the safety of treatment, calcium ion measurement can be performed at the same time as supportive therapy, and intravenous calcium preparation can be injected until the total calcium is normal. Mild disease can be injected with calcium preparation or intramuscular vitamin D and calcium preparation, and pay attention to the changes of heart while intravenous injection, such as arrhythmia symptoms, can be changed to calcium tablets, while oral vitamin D3 million IU/kg body weight, continuous service for 10 days.

6.3 Direct calcium supplementation in the blood can quickly control the disease, but because of its rapid metabolism and continuous absorption and utilization, it requires continuous calcium supplementation for several days. In order to ensure the full absorption and utilization of calcium ions, vitamin D3 should be supplemented at the same time. Because although calcium supplementation can increase the calcium ion concentration in the blood, but because the calcium intake from food may not be fully absorbed and utilized, if the mother continues to breastfeed after one control of the disease, calcium deficiency will occur again, and vitamin D3 can help the body absorb and utilize calcium. But supplement vitamin D3 should pay attention not to large doses in a short time to avoid poisoning.

6.4 The rapid decrease of serum calcium concentration in female dogs after delivery is the direct cause of this disease. According to the investigation, most of the female dog's feed is mainly meat. According to relevant information, the calcium content in raw and cooked meat is relatively low, and the ratio of calcium to phosphorus is 1:20. The optimum ratio of calcium and phosphorus in food is (1.2~1.4) ∶1. Due to the imbalance of calcium and phosphorus ratio in meat, dogs are in calcium deficiency state for a long time. At the same time, due to the decrease of gastrointestinal digestion and absorption function after delivery, the amount of calcium absorbed by intestinal tract decreased significantly. Especially in late pregnancy, the increased consumption of fetal development and the reduced absorption capacity of the gastrointestinal tract result in reduced calcium reserves in the skeleton that cannot compensate for the large consumption of calcium after childbirth (or certain pathological factors such as decreased thyroid function, which prevent the female from mobilizing calcium ions from the skeleton to restore calcium ion levels). Therefore, in order to prevent the occurrence of this disease, it is recommended to add appropriate calcium ions to the diet of female dogs during pregnancy and lactation. Add 0.5g calcium carbonate for every 100g fresh meat and 0.15g calcium carbonate for every 100ml milk, and take vitamin D3 million lu/kg orally. This will satisfy the dog's calcium needs.