Jejuna! Hemorrhage Syndrome in a Brown Swiss Cow
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A second lactation Brown Swiss cow was admitted for evaluation of inappetance and melena. On presentation, the cow had right-sided abdominal distension with a low-pitched "ping", melena with blood clots, and signs of colic. Blood work revealed anemia, hyperlacatemia, inflammation, and hypochloremic, hypokalemic, metabolic alkalosis. Abdominal ultrasound showed distended loops of small intestine with hyperechoic contents and a bulls-eye lesion. A preliminary diagnosis ofintussusception was made. During abdominal exploration, a hemorrhagic distended segment of proximal jejunum and a mesenteric rent adjacent to the duodenal attachments to the liver were identified. Due to the severity of devitalization of the small intestine and inability to perform a resection and anastomosis, the prognosis was grave and the cow was euthanized intra-operatively. Necropsy reported a diagnosis of jejunal hemorrhage syndrome (JHS), mesenteric rent with proximal jejunal entrapment, acute anemia, and sepsis. Post-mortem bacteriology showed many intraluminal Clostridium perji'ingens.