Acute phase proteins assessment for an early selection of treatments in growing calves suffering from bronchopneumonia under field conditions.

Blood samples were taken from calves with respiratory disease the first day of examination for determination of the serum concentration of haptoglobin, fibrinogen, alpha-2- and gamma-globulins, and albumin. A clinical examination was performed daily for the duration of the disease. The animals were retrospectively classified in two categories: those animals requiring no treatment or antibiotics alone (group A), and antibiotics associated to anti-inflammatory drugs (group B). The serum proteins were tested in order to check whether they were able to distinguish, on the first day of clinical examination, between calves requiring anti-inflammatory treatment (group B) or not (group A). About 80% of calves were properly classified in both groups by the combined use of the two serum proteins haptoglobin and fibrinogen: these two proteins, and especially haptoglobin, were useful for the identification of calves requiring an anti-inflammatory treatment.