Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Treatment Methods for Calcium and Phosphorus Metabolism Disorders in Pigs
Calcium and phosphorus metabolism disorders occur in young pigs, and the resulting bone dystrophy is called rickets. The pathological features are insufficient calcification by osteoblasts, persistent cartilage hypertrophy, and incomplete temporary calcification with enlargement of the epiphyses. The clinical features are digestive disturbance, pica, lameness, and skeletal deformity. It is a non-inflammatory disease of poor bone tissue development, and vitamin D deficiency also plays an important role in the pathogenesis of rickets. Calcium and phosphorus metabolism disorders occur in adult pigs, and the resulting bone dystrophy is called osteomalacia, or fibrous osteodystrophy. The pathological feature is progressive decalcification of bone, presenting as osteoporosis and formation of excessive uncalcified bone matrix, or chondrocytic fibrous tissue proliferation, with the bone body enlarging while its weight decreases. The clinical features are digestive disturbance, pica, lameness, osteoporosis, and bone deformity. It is caused by deficiency of calcium or phosphorus in the feed and an imbalance in their ratio. This disease is commonly seen in piglets, growing pigs with poor feeding and management, and sows during lactation and shortly after weaning.
1 Etiology
1.1 Improper feed formulation. Long-term feeding of a single feed, especially in rural areas where some free-range pigs are long fed plain corn, wheat bran, or rice bran as the concentrate; and some liquor-brewing @#@227@#@ households long use plain distillers' grains as the ration. In this way, because the calcium-to-phosphorus ratio in the feed is unbalanced (the calcium-to-phosphorus ratio is higher or lower than 1:0.8; the optimal calcium-to-phosphorus ratio for pigs in feed is 1:0.8), in most cases there is calcium deficiency, and coupled with vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency, this leads to the occurrence of rickets or osteomalacia and fibrous osteodystrophy. Piglets are especially sensitive to vitamin D deficiency, and coupled with an imbalanced or deficient calcium-to-phosphorus ratio, this leads to the occurrence of rickets in piglets.
1.2 Long-term poor feeding and management. Pigs long sleeping on damp ground, long-term irregular hunger and satiety, prolonged thirst followed by drinking too much cold water at once, overeating frozen feed, and insufficient exercise, so that the spleen and stomach are weakened and digestion and absorption are poor; even if the feed contains calcium and phosphorus in appropriate proportions, they cannot be fully absorbed, leading to calcium and phosphorus imbalance or deficiency in the body. Pigs not dewormed for a long time, so that there are especially many parasites in the intestinal tract, causing damage to the intestinal mucosa, and enteritis occurs, leading to incomplete absorption of nutrients, and absorption of trace elements such as calcium and phosphorus is also reduced.
2 Symptoms
In the early stage there is decreased appetite, indigestion, and listlessness, followed by pica, such as gnawing on wooden pen boards; if the pig pen is made of concrete, affected pigs will gnaw and eat the soil from the walls; in more severe cases, they lick and eat feces; later, affected pigs develop lameness, move poorly, sway in the hindquarters when walking (some cases show limb-wheeling lameness), stand with an arched back or lie on the ground unable to rise, have reduced appetite, and in severe cases may or may not eat, with the body gradually becoming emaciated. After some time, due to insufficient calcification of the systemic bone matrix or progressive systemic bone decalcification, there is enlargement, swelling, and pain of the limb joints, abnormal appearance, development of "0"-shaped legs or splayed "eight"-shaped legs, stiffness of the lower back, deformation of the skull, swelling and bulging of the maxilla and nasal bones, and protrusion of the hard palate, causing the lips to droop, difficulty closing the mouth, and swelling and thickening of the maxilla. In cases with a long course, the teeth show wear, chewing is slow, and there is drooling in the mouth. In some cases the ears and nose are cool, the feces are thin and loose or even diarrheic, and urine is scanty; this is what traditional Chinese veterinary medicine calls the yang-deficiency type of osteomalacia. In some cases the ears and nose are warm, the feces are dry and scanty, and the urine is concentrated and yellow; this is what traditional Chinese veterinary medicine calls the yin-deficiency type of osteomalacia. In some cases, with a relatively long course, the body is emaciated, the skull is deformed, the nose is swollen and the face is puffy, the limb joints are swollen and deformed, lameness is obvious, and the pig frequently lies on the ground unable to rise and has difficulty standing, with clear urine and a pale mouth color; this is what traditional Chinese veterinary medicine calls the yin-yang dual-deficiency type of osteomalacia.
3 Diagnosis
Based on the feeding and management conditions, feed formulation, and the characteristics of stunted growth, pica, swelling of the limb joints, and changes in the teeth and bones (sows are mostly affected in late gestation and lactation), it is not difficult to make a diagnosis.
4 Treatment
4.1 Western medicine treatment
4.1.1 Supplement the ration with calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D in appropriate proportions, such as adding an appropriate amount of bone meal or calcium hydrogen phosphate and vitamin AD3 powder to the feed. At the same time, adding appropriate amounts of trace elements such as copper, iron, zinc, manganese, and cobalt to the feed can improve efficacy and shorten the course of treatment.
4.1.2 For severe cases, additionally use calcium gluconate injection intravenously, and calciferol colloidal calcium injection and vitamin B injection mixed for intramuscular injection, once every 2 days. Piglets can also be injected intramuscularly with iron dextran or iron glucan injection, with a dosage of 200 mg per piglet, once every 6 days, until recovery.
4.2 Traditional Chinese medicine treatment. Because traditional Chinese medicine considers this disease to be weakness of the spleen, stomach, and kidney, the treatment principle is mainly to strengthen the spleen and stomach and tonify the kidney, with promoting blood circulation and clearing the meridians as an auxiliary.
4.2.1 For the yang-deficiency type, treat with Yizhi San. That is: Yizhi Ren 30 g, Rou Dou Kou 25 g, Mu Xiang 10 g, Wu Wei Zi 20 g, Bing Lang 10 g, Cao Guo 25 g, Xi Xin 10 g, Qing Pi 25 g, Bai Zhu 30 g, Shao Yao 30 g, Bai Zhi 5 g, Zhi Qiao 25 g, Gan Cao 15 g, Da Zao 30 g, Sheng Jiang 10 g, all ground into powder, 1 dose per day, taken continuously for 5 doses.
4.2.2 For the yin-deficiency type, treat with modified Huqian Wan. That is: Zhi Mu 30 g, Shu Di 30 g, Gui Ban 60 g, Bai Shao 25 g, Chen Pi 25 g, Suo Yang 20 g, Niu Xi 20 g, Gu Sui Bu 15 g, Dang Shen 30 g, Bai Zhu 20 g, Zhi Qiao 25 g, Hou Po 25 g, all ground into powder, 1 dose per day, taken continuously for 5 to 7 doses.
4.2.3 For the yin-yang dual-deficiency type, treat with modified Yizhi Dihuang San. That is: Yizhi Ren 30 g, Wu Wei Zi 30 g, Dang Gui 30 g, Shu Di 30 g, Rou Gui 25 g, Shan Yu Rou 25 g, Shan Yao 25 g, Dang Shen 25 g, Bai Zhu 25 g, Dan Pi 20 g, Bu Gu Zhi 20 g, Gan Cao 15 g, all ground into powder, 1 dose per day, taken continuously for 5 to 7 doses.
In clinical practice, 678 cases of calcium and phosphorus metabolism disorders in pigs were treated. Of these, 248 cases were treated with Western medicine alone, with 238 cured, a cure rate of 96%, and an average course of treatment of 28 days; 430 cases were treated with integrated Chinese and Western medicine, with a cure rate of 100% and an average course of treatment of 15 days.
5 Discussion
5.1 In pigs, due to calcium deficiency in the ration, or excess phosphorus causing relative calcium deficiency, calcium and phosphorus metabolism in the body is disturbed, and clinically a series of conditions occur: decreased appetite, indigestion, and then pica, lameness, gradual emaciation, enlargement and swelling of the limb joints, abnormal appearance, skull deformation, swelling and bulging of the upper cheekbone, frontal bone, and nasal bones, and swelling and thickening of the mandible. Traditional Chinese veterinary medicine calls this weakness of the spleen and stomach. Western medicine treatment is to add calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D in appropriate proportions to the feed, or simultaneously inject calcium preparations and vitamin D preparations, but this can only have a relatively good effect on cases with especially mild clinical symptoms. For cases with relatively prominent clinical symptoms, because the course of disease is relatively long, affected pigs have decreased appetite and indigestion, and consume little feed, resulting in deficiency of other nutrients as well, making the spleen, stomach, and kidney of the body all weak, and even causing systemic exhaustion, while calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D cannot treat the weakness of the body's spleen, stomach, and kidney, or systemic exhaustion. Only by using traditional Chinese medicine formulas that mainly strengthen the spleen and tonify the kidney, with promoting blood circulation and clearing the meridians as an auxiliary, can the weakness of the spleen, stomach, and kidney and systemic exhaustion be corrected, allowing the body to return to normal.
5.2 Because the weakness of the body's spleen, stomach, and kidney and systemic exhaustion are caused by calcium and phosphorus deficiency, mainly calcium deficiency, with vitamin D deficiency as the antecedent cause, therefore, in the clinical treatment of calcium and phosphorus metabolism disorders, adding calcium and phosphorus in appropriate proportions to the feed, mainly calcium and vitamin D, or simultaneously injecting calcium preparations and vitamin D preparations, is indispensable; and using traditional Chinese medicine formulas that mainly strengthen the spleen and stomach and tonify the kidney, with promoting blood circulation and clearing the meridians as an auxiliary, to regulate the body is also indispensable, and integrated Chinese and Western medicine treatment shortens the course of treatment and improves the cure rate.
5.3 Integrated Chinese and Western medicine treatment of calcium and phosphorus metabolism disorders in pigs has better efficacy than Western medicine treatment alone and can be actively promoted and applied in clinical practice.