Investigating antimicrobial and non-antimicrobial interventions used to reduce morbidity, mortality and overall antimicrobial use in male and female dairy calves: a scoping review protocol

Abstract

There are three main objectives of this scoping review: 1. To identify and describe the existing literature which evaluates preventative and/or metaphylactic use of antimicrobial and non-antimicrobial interventions in male and female dairy calves under 3 weeks of age where outcome measures include at least one of: morbidity, mortality or overall antimicrobial use a. To identify, list and describe the types of interventions started in the first week of life or first week after arrival b. To identify and describe how researchers measure the outcomes of morbidity, mortality, and antibiotic use; 2. To assess the feasibility of conducting a systematic review assessing the relative efficacy of an intervention or group of interventions; and, 3. To identify gaps in the published research literature.