Comparative evaluation of ultrasonography and lung function testing with the clinical signs and pathology of calves inoculated experimentally with Pasteurella multocida.

Seventeen calves were inoculated intratracheally with Pasteurella multocida 0 on three consecutive days with 10 ml of an inoculum containing 10(9) colony forming units/ml per day per calf. Before the first inoculation and 24 hours after the third, each calf was examined non-invasively by means of a clinical examination, chest ultrasonography, and impulse oscillometry to measure the impedance of the respiratory system. The inoculation of P multocida caused fever and a significant increase in respiratory rate and a decrease in tidal volume. There were also significant changes in the ultrasonographic results and in the impedance of the respiratory system. The percentage of the total surface area of the lungs showing pathological changes when the calves were euthanased 48 hours after the third inoculation ranged from 0.4 to 39 per cent. There were statistically significant correlations between the ultrasound scores and the pathological findings and between the ultrasound scores and the respiratory rate and tidal volume. The changes in the impedance of the respiratory system were not correlated with either the ultrasonographic or the pathological findings.