Changes in the clinical picture of parturient paresis

The goal of this study was to determine if the symptoms and the course of p arturient paresis in the cow have changed over the past 25 years. Clinical and laboratory findings from 630 cases diagnosed in the years from 1990 to 1996 were compared to findings from earlier cases in the same practice repo rted by Bostedt in the seventies. The comparison showed that typical sympto ms such as reduced food intake and ruminal motility as well as a disturbed sensorium were less pronounced, that serum levels of anorganic phosphate we re lower, whereas serum creatine phosphokinase activity was found to be cle arly higher in the more recent evaluated group. Although the overall recove ry rate of 85% of cows remained unchanged, the success rare of first treatm ent with barely 44 % has clearly declined.