CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125004 (Haryana)
Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University, Bidar-585 401 (Karnataka)
The study was conducted on 36 adult female buffaloes. The buffaloes were divided into healthy control group (group I, n=6), diseased control group (group II, n=15) and diseased treatment group (group III, n=15). The animals of group I were selected from an organized farm. The buffaloes of groups II and III were suffering from digestive tract disorders and found positive for traumatic reticulo-peritonitis (TRP) on the basis of plain reticulography showing potential radiopaque foreign bodies and were subjected to laparorumenotomy. In groups II and III whole blood samples were collected at 0 hour (prior to laparorumenotomy and then at 24 and 48 hours (postlaparorumenotomy) for evaluation of histamine status, whereas in control group I, the whole blood samples were collected once only. In group III, the buffaloes were treated with antihistamine (chlorpheniramine maleate @ 0.5 mg/kg body wt. IM daily for four days) to ameliorate altered histamine status based on the study of healthy control and diseased control groups. In addition to it, 5L of hypertonic saline (2.7% sodium chloride) was infused immediately after laparorumenotomy and then at 24 and 48 hours, postoperatively. Moreover the rumen was flushed/inflated with carbon dioxide at the time of closure of rumen wall to maintain anaerobiasis. The concentrations of rumen fluid histamine at the time of laparorumenotomy were almost five times increased in groups II and III vis-à-vis the blood histamine concentrations. A significant (p<0.05) positive correlation (r=0.58) was noticed between the rumen fluid and blood histamine concentrations of groups II and III at 0 hour. The values of blood histamine of groups II and III at 0 and 24 hour differed significantly (P<0.05) from the healthy control group I. At 48 hour post-laparorumenotomy the concentrations of blood histamine of diseased treatment group III were substantially improved but still slightly higher than normal values. The substantial improvement in blood histamine concentrations may be attributed to additional administration of chlorpheniramine maleate along with removal of one-third of the contents of the rumen at laparorumenotomy, which were presumably rich in histamine. Therefore, it was concluded that antihistaminics should be included in the treatment protocol of buffaloes suffering from TRP subjected to laparorumenotomy. The creation of rumen anaerobiasis may have an additional advantage. The treatment with antihistamines should be extended beyond 48 hours postoperatively.
