Efficacy of different ovarian cysts treatments (GnRH, hCG and PRID) in dairy cows

Cystic ovarian disease represent an unsolved problem in bovine reproduction. Despite the huge amount of literature, the exact pathogenesis of the disease is still not completely clear and therefore also the choice of treatment is still debated. The present study was aimed to compare the effective efficacy of the three most common drugs used for ovarian cystic disease treatment in dairy cows: GnRH (20 μg I.V.), hCG (3000 I.U. I.M.), PRID (for 10 days). Data obtained from 150 cystic Friesian cows showed that cure rates (GnRH 64%, hCG 66%, PRID 63%), conception rates (GnRH 45.2%, hCG 47.8%, PRID 46.2%), the overall pregnancy rates (GnRH 20%, hCG 22%, PRID 20%) and recovery times (GnRH 17.9 days, hCG 17.7 days, PRID 19.7 days) were not significant different except for a shorter recovery time for cows treated with PRID (9.7 days) but only when the day of PRID removal was considered as the day of treatment. Based on the present study findings, GnRH could be considered as the first choice drug for the treatment of cows affected by ovarian cysts, considering together efficacy, drugs costs and easy administration.