Prognosis of diarrhoea in the newborn calf: statistical analysis of blood biochemical data.

Blood samples were taken from 55 diarrhoeic calves (neo-natal diarrhoea) at the time of the first therapeutic intervention. Eleven blood parameters were measured in these samples. The whole group of measurements were analysed by their principal components (tables 3 and 4). The results are expressed in visual form by Figures 1 and 2. The first principal axis corresponds to the acid-base balance while the second axis can be considered as corresponding to the catabolism. The discriminant analysis (table 5) shows that the parameter having the best prognosis value is the blood urea concentration. By adding two other easily measured parameters (the haematocrit and the blood chloride concentration) the probability of classifying correctly the calves into one or other of the groups dead or surviving is approximately 80%.