2002 Volume 55 Issue 8 Pages 489-493
Histories, clinical signs, and clinical findings of 108 dairy cattle clinically suspected of having bacterial endocarditis (BE)(66 cases of BE and 42 cases without BE) were investigated. Significant clinical findings in cases of BE were positive jugular pulsation, distended jugular vein, cardiac murmurs, pounding heart sounds, and persistent tachycardia. Even more significant was the suggestion that persistent tachycardia unattributable to fever is both an important finding and a helpful diagnostic clue to early BE. Cattle with BE had significant past or present histories of arthritis and abortion. There were no marked differences in laboratory findings between cases with and cases without BE. Increased amplitudes of P, QRS, and T electrocardiographic waves were not always characteristic of BE.
