Houe H, Vaarst M, Enevoldsen C
Department of Animal Science and Animal Health, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Frederiksberg, Denmark.
Acta Vet Scand. 2002;43(3):173-84.
This study examined the possibilities of using clinical parameters related to the bovine udder for characterisation of udder health. Five clinicians performed systematic clinical recordings of udder health at 3 visits to 4 dairy herds. Several of the clinical parameters were scored on an ordinal scale. The agreement between clinicians was compared using kappa statistics. Factor analysis was used to identify udder types. The clinical evaluations showed substantial variation among clinicians. Parameters that were not directly related to pathological conditions showed the highest variation e.g. length of the claws, teat shape and hardness of the udder parenchyma. On the other hand, evaluation of pathological parameters such as nodes in the udder, skin lesions and oedema showed good agreement between clinicians. Udder types identified by means of factor analysis were found to be suitable for characterisation of udder health. Especially one factor related to dry quarters and udder asymmetry showed a more consistent relationship to milk yield than traditionally applied udder health parameters such as treatment rate and cell count. It is concluded that there is a considerable need for increased efforts among clinicians in order to standardise clinical recordings. It is further concluded that certain combinations of extended clinical recordings have significant perspectives for future characterisation of udder health.
本研究探讨了利用与奶牛乳房相关的临床参数来表征乳房健康状况的可能性。五名临床医生对4个奶牛场进行了3次访问，对乳房健康状况进行了系统的临床记录。其中几个临床参数采用序数量表进行评分。使用kappa统计量比较临床医生之间的一致性。采用因子分析来确定乳房类型。临床评估显示，临床医生之间存在很大差异。与病理状况无直接关系的参数差异最大，例如蹄爪长度、乳头形状和乳房实质硬度。另一方面，对乳房结节、皮肤病变和水肿等病理参数的评估显示，临床医生之间具有良好的一致性。通过因子分析确定的乳房类型被认为适合用于表征乳房健康状况。特别是一个与干奶期乳房和乳房不对称相关的因子，与产奶量的关系比传统应用的乳房健康参数（如治疗率和细胞计数）更为一致。研究得出结论，临床医生迫切需要加大努力，以规范临床记录。进一步得出结论，扩展临床记录的某些组合对未来乳房健康状况的表征具有重要意义。
