Milk fever: a case against polypharmacy solutions

One hundred and thirty four cases of hypocalcaemia (parturient paresis) between April and Jul 1976 from 72 herds in the UK and Eire were used to compare the response to intravenous treatments with one of three solutions containing calcium salts. Two solutions contained 8 g calcium, one with added magnesium (1.03 g), a third solution contained 6.2 g calcium. The biochemical response obtained 24 hours after successful treatment from all solutions was similar. The clinical response with both 8 g calcium solutions was similar and significantly superior to that obtained with 6.2 g calcium (P less than 0.02 greater than 0.01). More cases (44 per cent) relapsed after treatment with 6.2 g calcium. There was no evidence that the added magnesium to the calcium solution improved the clinical response of parturient paresis cases in this spring claving season, as had been suggested previously. The herds providing these 134 cases had recorded an incidence of 8.04 per cent for parturient paresis in 1975.