The objectives of this paper were (i) to perform a systematic review of the literature over the last 21 yr and (ii) to evaluate the efficacy of selective dry cow treatment (SDCT) vs. blanket dry cow treatment (BDCT) in dairy cows regarding the risk of intramammary infection (IMI) after calving, new IMI risk after calving, cure risk during the dry period, and a reduction in antibiotic use at drying-off by meta-analysis. The systematic search was carried out using the databases PubMed, CAB Direct, and ScienceDirect. A meta-analytical assessment was performed for each outcome of interest using random-effects models, and the relative risk (RR) for IMI and cure or the pooled proportion for antibiotic use was calculated. The final number of included studies was n = 3 for IMI risk after calving and n = 5 for new IMI risk after calving, cure risk during the dry period, and antibiotic use. The RR levels for IMI (RR, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02, 0.94–1.11; p = 0.592), new IMI (RR, 95% CI: 1.06, 0.94–1.20; p = 0.994), and cure (RR, 95% CI: 1.00, 0.97–1.02; p = 0.661) did not differ significantly between SDCT and BDCT. Substantial heterogeneity was observed between the trials regarding the pooled proportion of antibiotic use within the SDCT groups (I2 = 97.7%; p < 0.001). This meta-analysis provides evidence that SDCT seems to be an adequate alternative to BDCT regarding udder health with a simultaneous reduction in antibiotic use. Limitations might arise because of the small number of studies included.
