An Innovative Approach: The Usage of N-Acetylcysteine in the Therapy of Pneumonia in Neonatal Calves.

Simple Summary: Treatment of neonatal pneumonia with N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) in calves shortens the time to symptom resolution by 27 h. There is a lack of data on NAC usage for neonatal pneumonia in calves. However, previous research explored its usage in other animals with other indications in cattle. The effects of NAC on neonatal pneumonia in calves were investigated in 40 animals from different owners who accepted or refused the addition of NAC in the therapy protocol. NAC has mucolytic, antioxidant, and antimicrobial effects in living organisms. However, the therapeutic effects of NAC on clinical recovery among neonatal calves with respiratory diseases have not yet been studied. Our study represents the first investigation of the effects of NAC in neonatal calves with pneumonia. The objective of this work was to observe the effects of NAC in the treatment of neonatal pneumonia, including its ability to reduce the clinical score, shorten the duration of the treatment, and improve the overall health condition of neonatal calves. For this study, calves were divided into two groups: a treatment group that received NAC and amoxicillin with clavulanic acid, and a control group that received amoxicillin with clavulanic acid (antimicrobial only). The findings of this study indicate that NAC treatment significantly shortened the time to resolution (p < 0.001), compared to the results in the group without NAC treatment. Generally, NAC-supplemented therapy reduced the recovery time by more than 27 h (or slightly more than one day), compared to that in the antimicrobial-only group. Our study presents the first reported usage of NAC in therapy for respiratory disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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