As part of clinical wound assessment in bovine surgery, discrepancies in skin temperature are evaluated by placing the back of the hand on the area to be examined. Generally, an increased skin temperature at the wound site for a prolonged period is considered as an indicator of impaired wound healing. The aim of this study was to verify the reliability of palpation under bovine practice conditions using laparotomy as an example. Fourteen cows (German Holstein) with a left displacement of the abomasum (LDA) without other severe concurrent diseases were examined preoperatively and once daily for ten days after surgery. The skin temperature of the wound site in the right flank was assessed by palpation, followed by thermographic evaluation using an infrared camera after a 45-min acclimatisation period, under standardised conditions in a closed examination room daily for 10 days. All the incisions healed without clinical detectable perturbances. The ambient temperature range during the study period was 7.8 − 24.1 °C. Two groups were retrospectively defined according to the ambient temperature: high ambient temperature (HT group; median: 20.2 °C 25/75 quartile: 18.5 °C / 21.7 °C; n = 6) and low ambient temperature (LT group; 10.8 °C; 9.4 °C / 12.8 °C; n = 8). The temperature differences (Δϑ) between the mean skin temperature of the wound site and a defined reference area cranial to the wound were assessed. A significant negative correlation was found between the ambient temperature (ϑAmb) and Δϑ (r=-0.51; P < 0.001). The Δϑ was postoperatively higher in the cows in the LT group (median of the individual animals 0.8–2.5 °C) than in the HT group (0.1–0.5 °C; P < 0.05). In contrast to the thermographic findings, manual palpation rarely detected local hyperthermia (> 1 °C) at the wound site (sensitivity 0.20; specificity 0.96). The infrared thermography provides a more reliable assessment of temperature changes at the wound site in comparison to manual palpation. The ambient temperature markedly affects the extent of local hyperthermia at the wound site.

中文翻译：

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牛的术后伤口评估：手背触诊的可靠性如何？

作为牛手术临床伤口评估的一部分，通过将手背放在要检查的区域来评估皮肤温度的差异。通常，伤口部位皮肤温度长时间升高被认为是伤口愈合受损的指标。本研究的目的是以剖腹术为例验证牛实践条件下触诊的可靠性。术前检查了 14 头皱胃左侧移位 (LDA) 的母牛（德国荷斯坦奶牛），没有其他严重的并发疾病，术后 10 天每天检查一次。通过触诊评估右侧伤口部位的皮肤温度，然后在 45 分钟的适应期后使用红外相机进行热成像评估，在标准化条件下，每天在封闭的考场中进行 10 天。所有切口均愈合而没有临床可检测到的干扰。研究期间的环境温度范围为 7.8 - 24.1 °C。根据环境温度追溯定义两组：高环境温度（HT组；中位数：20.2°C 25/75四分位数：18.5°C / 21.7°C；n = 6）和低环境温度（LT组；10.8° C；9.4 °C / 12.8 °C；n = 8）。评估伤口部位的平均皮肤温度与伤口头侧的定义参考区域之间的温差 (Δϑ)。在环境温度 (ϑAmb) 和 Δϑ (r=-0.51; P < 0.001) 之间发现显着的负相关。LT 组奶牛的术后 Δϑ 更高（个体动物的中位数为 0.8-2。5 °C) 比 HT 组 (0.1–0.5 °C; P < 0.05)。与热成像结果相反，手动触诊很少检测到伤口部位的局部高温（> 1°C）（敏感性 0.20；特异性 0.96）。与手动触诊相比，红外热成像可以更可靠地评估伤口部位的温度变化。环境温度显着影响伤口部位局部过热的程度。