Is there an evidence base for veterinarians to utilise when treating commonly seen conditions in cattle?

Evidence based veterinary medicine (EVM) is an integral part of clinical decision-making in practice. In order for EVM to be utilised effectively, relevant published evidence must be available to veterinarians. Currently there is a lack of research identifying the common conditions seen in cattle in the United Kingdom (UK) and it is unknown whether the published literature is relevant to these. Two methods (cross sectional questionnaire of veterinarians and observational practice-based study) were used to identify the commonly seen cattle conditions, and an online information search was conducted to determine the amount of evidence available on these. Conditions relating to the reproductive and respiratory systems were most frequently seen; the most common conditions or procedures were mastitis, lameness, pneumonia, uterine infections, dystocia, fertility testing and tuberculosis testing. For the more common conditions, there was more literature found (e.g. 15,208 citations for mastitis) compared to the less common conditions (e.g. 50 citations for cystitis).In conclusion, this study identifies the common conditions seen in cattle in the UK and suggests there is relevant literature available on these to potentially facilitate an evidence-based approach being used in practice