Endometritis is one of the major diseases causing
infertility in the cow. Intrauterine infusion of
povidone-iodine (
PVP-I) is a common treatment. However, the optimal concentration of
PVP-I for treating
endometritis effectively remains unknown. We tested concentrations of 2.0% or 0.5%
PVP-I for treating clinical
endometritis in dairy cattle. In Experiment 1, bacteria isolated from the uterus were incubated with either 2.0% or 0.5%
PVP-I, and the numbers of bacterial colonies were counted. In Experiment 2, 18 cows with clinical
endometritis were treated with either 2.0% or 0.5%
PVP-I (n=9 in each group). Cytology samples and bacteria were collected using a cytobrush on weeks 0 (W0), 1 (W1) and 2 (W2)
after treatment. Subsequent reproductive performance was compared between the two groups. In Experiment 1, both concentrations had a similar
antiseptic outcome. In Experiment 2, the percentage of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN%) in the endometrial epithelium at W2 in the 2.0% group was significantly lower (P<0.05) than in the 0.5% group, although the PMN% decreased significantly from W0 to W2 (P<0.01) in both groups. Decreases in
bacterial infection rates from W0 to W2 were similar in both groups. The first service conception rate was higher, numbers of services per conception were fewer, and time to conception was shorter in the 2.0% group than in the 0.5% group. Thus, an intrauterine infusion of 2.0%
PVP-I was better than 0.5% in treating clinical
endometritis in these dairy cattle.