Acta Vet. Brno 2011, 80: 179-184

https://doi.org/10.2754/avb201180020179

Limitations of ultrasound guided follicular aspiration for analysis of ovarian follicular fluid in dairy cattle

Svatopluk Čech, Eva Indrová, Miloslava Lopatářová, Jana Malá, Alena Pechová, Radovan Doležel

Ruminant Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic

The aim of this study was to evaluate the applicability of ovum pick-up equipment for follicular fluid collection from various follicular structures (experiment 1) and for recovery of follicular fluid for acid-base balance analysis (experiment 2). An ultrasound scanner equipped with a 5-MHz convex transducer was used for transvaginal ultrasound-guided follicular aspiration. A 17-gauge, 60-cm aspiration needle was connected with a shortened aspiration line. The fluid was aspirated manually into a 2 ml plastic syringe at a speed of approximately 0.2 ml/s. The success of aspiration was higher in ovarian cysts (100%) and single follicles larger than 13 mm (76.7%) compared to single follicles smaller than 12 mm (20%, p < 0.001). The success of aspiration of multiple follicles on day 4 (diameter of 7–9 mm) was higher (90.9%) compared to follicles on day 2 (diameter of 4-6 mm) (66.7%, p < 0.05) in experiment 1. The fluid from ovarian cysts > 25 mm in diameter was aspirated in a two-step procedure (samples 1 and 2) for the determination of pH, HCO3, BE, pCO2 and pO2 (experiment 2). The indicators were compared between samples 1 and 2. Higher pO2 as well as pH and lower pCO2 in sample 1 compared to sample 2 showed insufficient anaerobic conditions during the first phase of the puncture in experiment 2. Our study brings for the first time the finding that the ovum pick-up equipment used in our experiments is suitable for the collection of follicular fluid only from larger follicular structures. The sampling of follicular fluid for acid-base balance assays requires the development of a special new device to prevent samples from coming into contact with air during aspiration.

References

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