Investigations on the influence of serum D-lactate levels on clinical signs in calves with metabolic acidosis

Correlations between the degree of acidosis and clinical signs (changes in posture, behaviour, intensity of suckling reflex) in neonatal diarrhoeic calves have been described in various studies. However, base excess values varied widely in calves exhibiting similar clinical symptoms. The objective of this study was to elucidate whether the clinical picture of acidotic calves with neonatal diarrhoea is influenced more by D-lactate concentration than by degree of acidosis. Eighty calves up to three weeks old that were admitted to the II Medical Animal Clinic with acute diarrhoea and base excess values between -10 and -25 mmol/L were included in the prospective study. Posture, behaviour, suckling and palpebral reflexes, and position of the eyeballs were scored during the initial examination. Base excess and serum D-lactate and urea concentrations were determined in venous blood. In order to quantify the influences of base excess and d-lactate on the clinical parameters, groups of different clinical categories were compared. The results show that variations in behaviour, and in posture can be better explained by elevations of serum D-lactate concentrations than by decreases in base excess. Disturbances of the palpebral reflex appear to be almost completely caused by high levels of D-lactate.