Clinical course and symptoms in calves with a perforating abomasal ulcer Th
is study was designed to provide a detailed description of the clinical cou
rse and signs of calves with a perforating abomasal ulcer. Calves up to 6 m
onths of age that were admitted to the clinic between May 1997 and June 199
8 were included in the study if they met at least four out of five of the f
ollowing criteria: no peracute course of illness, no or only mild signs of
colic, abnormal posture, abdominal distension, and increased tension of the
abdominal wall. These criteria had been determined in a previous retrospec
tive study of the records of 50 calves with perforating ulcers. All thirty
calves with a perforating abomasal ulcer were diagnosed correctly. The majo
rity (67%) was between six and twelve weeks old. Most of the calves had bee
n ill for several days before being admitted. A pet-acute course was not ob
served in any of the cases. The clinical picture in all calves was comparat
ively uniform despite the different pathways of perforation of the abomasal
ulcers. All calves exhibited an abnormal posture and their general conditi
on was poor. When offered, 78% of calves put their mouths into water, mostl
y without drinking. Only few calves showed mild clinical signs of colic, wh
ich was associated with the act of perforation of the ulcer. Abdominal dist
ension was a frequent sign and all calves had increased abdominal tension.
Ballottement and percussion of the abdominal wall proved valuable in identi
fying the direction of the perforation and abomasal displacement. Peristals
is of the intestines and rumen was usually absent or greatly diminished. Pa
in was elicited over the entire abdomen on palpation. Only traces of feces
or scant feces of varying consistency were present in the rectum in most an
imals. Melaena or occult blood in the feces had no diagnostic value with re
gard to occurrence of perforation. Left-sided displacement of the abomasum
occurred in 70% of cases. Repositioning the abomasum by rolling the animal
aided the diagnosis. Where displacement and perforation co-existed, the dis
placement was considered to have preceded the perforation.