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Accuracy of a Pregnancy-Associated Glycoprotein ELISA to Determine Pregnancy Status of Lactating Dairy Cows Twenty-Seven Days After Timed Artificial Insemination

E. Silva^*, R. A. Sterry^*, D. Kolb, N. Mathialagan, M. F. McGrath, J. M. Ballam and P. M. Fricke^*,1

^* Department of Dairy Science, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53706
Lodi Veterinary Clinic, Lodi, WI 53555
Monsanto Agricultural Company, St. Louis, MO 63167

¹ Corresponding author: pmfricke{at}wisc.edu

To determine the accuracy of a pregnancy-associated glycoprotein (PAG) ELISA in identifying pregnancy status 27 d after timed artificial insemination (TAI), blood samples were collected from lactating Holstein cows (n = 1,079) 27 d after their first, second, and third postpartum TAI services. Pregnancy diagnosis by transrectal ultrasonography (TU) was performed immediately after blood sample collection, and pregnancy outcomes by TU served as a standard to test the accuracy of the PAG ELISA. Pregnancy outcomes based on the PAG ELISA and TU that agreed were considered correct, whereas the pregnancy status of cows in which pregnancy outcomes between PAG and TU disagreed were reassessed by TU 5 d later. The accuracy of pregnancy diagnosis was less than expected when using TU 27 d after TAI (93.7 to 97.8%), especially when pregnancy outcomes were based on visualization of chorioallantoic fluid and a corpus luteum but when an embryo was not visualized. The accuracy of PAG ELISA outcomes 27 d after TAI was 93.7, 95.4, and 96.2% for first, second, and third postpartum TAI services, respectively. Statistical agreement (kappa) between TU and the PAG ELISA 27 d after TAI was 0.87 to 0.90. Pregnancy outcomes based on the PAG ELISA had a high negative predictive value, indicating that the probability of incorrectly administering PGF₂ to pregnant cows would be low if this test were implemented on a commercial dairy.

Key Words: transrectal ultrasonography • pregnancy-associated glycoprotein • pregnancy diagnosis