Evaluation of urine dipstick and cystoscopy in bovine enzootic haematuria

Abstract

Enzootic bovine haematuria is mainly caused by the chronic ingestion of bracken fern and is still considered an important cause of economic losses in beef herds, particularly in large metropolitan areas of Brazil that are not suitable for agriculture (weak soil, steep hills).The aim of this paper was evaluate if there is a correlation between the degree of haematuria and the presence of lesions in the urinary bladder of cows with bovine enzootic haematuria (BEH).We evaluated the bladder of twenty Nelore cows with bracken fern intoxication using a flexible endoscope to describe the lesions present and we performed a rapid urine test with a chemical multiple-reagent commercial strips (Combur test Roche® - Swiss) to check the degree of haematuria; then we correlated both results with the Spearman statistical test. All cows presented lesions in their bladder walls and the urine was visually reddish and positive for haematuria in the strips. Urine dipstick has shown to correlate with bladder lesion number. In the bladders of the euthanised animals, multiple sub-mucosal reddish nodules and multiple ecchymotic haemorrhages were seen macroscopically, and one bladder had a larger tumour with a 3cm diameter, which was determined to be a haemangioma by analysing the histopathology. We concluded that urine dipstick is a valuable device for bovine enzootic haematuria prognostic purposes and to evaluate the severity of lesions from the urinary bladder. Moreover, cystoscopy is an important diagnostic tool to assess bladder lesions in cattle. Further studies are necessary to evaluate the involvement of papillomaviruses and bladder tumour occurrence in these cows.