Blood Glucose Concentrations in Critically Ill Neonatal Foals

Abstract

Reasons for Performing Study: Critical illness is associated with hyperglycemia in humans, and a greater degree and duration of hyperglycemia is associated with nonsurvival. Hypoglycemia is also seen in critically ill humans, and is associated with nonsurvival. This might also be true in the critically ill foal.Objectives: To investigate the association of blood glucose concentrations with survival, sepsis, and the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS).Methods: Blood glucose concentrations at admission (515 foals) and 24 hours (159 foals), 36 hours (95), 48 hours (82), and 60 hours (45) after admission were analyzed. Logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate the association of glucose concentrations with survival, sepsis, a positive blood culture, or SIRS.Results: 29.1% of foals had blood glucose concentrations within the reference range (76-131 mg/dL) at admission, 36.5% were hyperglycemic, and 34.4% were hypoglycaemic. Foals that did not survive to hospital discharge had lower mean blood glucose concentrations at admission, as well as higher maximum and lower minimum blood glucose concentrations in the 1st 24 hours of hospitalization, and higher blood glucose at 24 and 36 hours. Foals with blood glucose concentrations o2.8 mmol/L (50 mg/dL) or 410 mmol/L (180 mg/dL) at admission were less likely to survive. Hypoglycemia at admission was associated with sepsis, a positive blood culture, and SIRS.Conclusions and Potential Relevance: Derangements of blood glucose concentration are common in critically ill foals. Controlling blood glucose concentrations may therefore be beneficial in the critically ill neonatal foal, and this warrants further investigation.

Evaluation of a Veterinary Glucometer for Use in Horses

“…Presenting complaints for horses considered healthy on admission included nonseptic, noncatastrophic limb injury (11), lameness examination (8), dental examination (3), pre-operative cryptorchidectomy or ovariectomy (2), and head shaking (1). Presenting complaints for horses admitted for emergency evaluation and considered critically ill included colic (15), severe local sepsis with concurrent signs of systemic illness (3), retained placenta (2), placentitis (1), colitis (1), laminitis (1), influenza-associated acute respiratory distress syndrome (1), and acute blood loss (1).…”

“…In a recent report, more than two thirds of critically ill neonatal foals were hyperglycemic or hypoglycemic at the time of hospital admission. 2 In this same report, extreme hyper-and hypoglycemia were associated with decreased survival. 2 Glucose regulation also has been studied in adult equine emergency admissions.…”

“…2 In this same report, extreme hyper-and hypoglycemia were associated with decreased survival. 2 Glucose regulation also has been studied in adult equine emergency admissions. Hyperglycemia is a common glucose alteration in adult horses with gastrointestinal disease that is associated with a decrease in survival.…”

Effects of intravenous administration of polymyxin B in neonatal foals with experimental endotoxemia

“…Neonatal foals are susceptible to hypoglycemia because of low fat and glycogen reserves; thus, a neonatal foal that is not suckling can develop hypoglycemia rapidly. 30 Hypoglycemia is a common feature in ill neonatal foals evaluated at referral hospitals, with 1 large retrospective study 31 detecting hypoglycemia at admission in 34% of 515 neonatal foals. Furthermore, foals with blood glucose concentrations < 50 mg/dL at admission in that study 31 were associated with septicemia and positive results of bacteriologic culture of blood and were less likely to survive.…”

Niveles de glicemia en potros criollo colombiano durante sus primeras horas de vida

“…En la práctica médica las concentraciones séricas de glucosa han sido utilizadas como indicadores de enfermedad y como predictor de sobrevivencia 15,17,18 , para su determinación pueden utilizarse técnicas de laboratorio y portátiles, aunque los primeros son más confiables tienen la limitante de estar restringidos a clínicas y hospitales 6 . Se ha demostrado que la técnica realizada con glucómetro portátil a pesar de ser un invasiva, es de fácil ejecución y si es realizada adecuadamente no MEDICINA VETERINARIA Y ZOOTECNIA genera estrés en los animales 19 , y proveen una precisión suficiente para las mediciones de glucosa en los animales domésticos 13,19 .…”