Development of a Nomogram to Estimate the 60-Day Probability of Death or Culling Due to Severe Clinical Mastitis in Dairy Cows at First Veterinary Clinical Evaluation

Simple Summary Severe clinical mastitis is an inflammation of the mammary gland with systemic clinical signs. It is a frequent and highly fatal disease of dairy cattle worldwide. Nomograms are practical tools that help predict a specific issue based on statistical models. Here, we developed nomograms for prediction of death or culling related with cases of severe clinical mastitis that were treated in dairy farm settings following a veterinary clinical examination. Such a tool will help veterinarians in prognosis prediction. A reliable prognosis is important to make euthanasia decisions in poor prognosis cases. Severe clinical mastitis is a frequent disease of dairy cattle. An effective mean of predicting survival despite treatment would be helpful for making euthanasia decisions in poor prognosis cases. The objective was to develop a nomogram for prediction of death or culling in the 60 days following a severe mastitis episode in dairy cows at first veterinary visit in farm settings. A total of 224 dairy cows presenting severe clinical mastitis and examined for the first time by a veterinarian were included in a prospective study. Clinical and laboratory (complete blood cell count, L-lactate, cardiac troponin I, milk culture) variables were recorded. Animals were followed for 60 days. A nomogram was built with an adaptive elastic-net Cox proportional hazards model. Performances and relevance were evaluated by area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), Harrell's concordance index (C-index), calibration curve, decision curve analysis (DCA) and misclassification cost term (MCT). The nomogram included: lactation number, recumbency, depression intensity, capillary refilling time, ruminal motility rate, dehydration level, lactates concentration, hematocrit, band neutrophils count, monocyte count, and milk bacteriology. The AUC and C-index showed a good calibration and ability to discriminate. The DCA suggested that the nomogram was clinically relevant. Euthanizing animals having less than 25% probability of survival is economically optimal. It could be used for early euthanasia decisions in animals that would not survive despite treatment. To facilitate the use of this nomogram by veterinarians, a web-based app was developed.

Automated summary

This study developed a tool for predicting the risk of death or culling in cases of severe clinical mastitis, helping veterinarians in prognosis prediction. The tool is important for making euthanasia decisions in poor prognosis cases.