Carbs and Lipid Metabolism Lecture 20 Flashcards
Hyperglycemia
Glucose is above reference limit
Hypoglycemia
Glucose is below reference limit
Euglycemia
Glucose is within reference interval
How is glucose measured?
Glucose is measured in heparinized plasma (green‐top tube) or serum (red‐top or tiger‐top tube) as part of a routine biochemical profile.
What are some common glucose measuring devices and what would be the proper sample for each?
Glucometer –> whole blood
Blood gas instruments –> whole blood
Chemistry instruments on routine biochem panels –> plasma (or serum)
Freestyle libre monitor –> interstitial fluid, type of continuous glucose monitoring
What is plasma-equivalent glucose?
100 microL plasma has more glucose than 100 microL whole blood so when you use modern glucometers they report a “plasma-equivalent” glucose of the whole blood sample used.
Modern glucometer plasma-equivalent reporting assumes:
the patient has an approximately
normal PCV.
Particular distribution of glucose in RBCs and plasma
What is the purpose of plasma-equivalent glucose?
decreases bias between glucometers and central lab
Should you use human glucometers for animals?
no they falsely decrease results in animals. Also ensure you chose the correct species on your glucometer
What sample should you use for glucometers?
whole blood
Not effusions
- low PCV of effusion –> falsely high glucose
How do you minimize pre-analytical error?
- Cells don’t die immediately upon removal from the body! If you draw a blood sample, the cells in that sample will continue to live (and carry on metabolism) for at least several hours. Living cells use glucose.
- Because of this, it’s crucial to separate plasma (or serum) from cells in a timely fashion for accurate glucose measurement. Plasma should be harvested following sample collection within 30 minutes. Blood in clot tubes should be allowed to clot fully before centrifugation; ideally serum is harvested within 60 minutes following blood collection.
- At room temperature, glucose concentration drops by 5 to 10% per hour if cells and plasma (or
serum) are not separated; marked erythrocytosis or leukocytosis only accelerate this process.
If you have unexpected hypoglycemia why?
Think about how the sample was handled
Urine dipsticks: Should glucose ever be present in health?
It should be negative because glucose is freely filtered amd reabsorbed
Glucosuria will occur if:
Resorption mechanisms are overwhelmed (due to hyperglycemia)
Tubular damage or defect –> animal is typically euglycemic
What are some common causes of hyperglycemia?
- Increased intestinal absorption –> Post‐prandial (is expected following a meal!)
- Catecholamine release –> fight or flight response
- Increased gluconeogenesis &
glycogenolysis –> Corticosteroid excess (can be endogenous, as with stress or disease; or exogenous, as with corticosteroid drug administration) - Absolute insulin deficiency –> Diabetes mellitus (type I; any cause of islet cell destruction resulting in diabetes)
- Increased insulin resistance (with relative insulin deficiency) –> Diabetes mellitus (type II), Obesity in horses/ponies (“metabolic syndrome”), Corticosteroid excess, sick camelids
- Impaired insulin release –> Bovine milk fever (partly due to hypocalcemia; calcium is needed for cleavage of proinsulin to insulin)
- Pharmacologic (various mechanisms) –> Many drugs cause hyperglycemia. Besides corticosteroid
drugs and progestins, common drugs include xylazine,
detomidine, ketamine, thyroxine, and propranolol.
What species are very prone to hyperglycemia?
- Llamas and alpacas
- Very common when sick
- Presumed due to stress
hormone release + insulin
resistance - Stress hyperglycemia can be
marked (> 400 mg/dL) - May require insulin treatment
What are some common causes of hypoglycemia?
- Pre‐analytical error –> Delayed separation of plasma/serum from cells
- Insulin excess –> Iatrogenic (excess insulin administration)
- Decreased gluconeogenesis –> Liver insufficiency/failure (can be acute or chronic), Hypoadrenocorticism (Addison’s Dz) (decreased cortisol), Neonatal or juvenile hypoglycemia (immature liver)
- Increased tissue utilization of glucose –> sepsis
If an animal is held off food or is anorexic for a few days should they get hypoglycemic?
NO not if if liver function (gluconeogenesis, glycogenolysis) and glycogen stores are
normal! Think of the liver as a “thermostat” for maintaining euglycemia.
What animals are specifically vulnerable to hypoglycemia during fasting?
- Animals suffering from prolonged anorexia or starvation, whose dietary carbohydrate
intake is reduced and whose liver glycogen stores are depleted - Neonates (particularly neonatal piglets and toy breed dogs) –> this is due to underdeveloped enzymes for gluconeogenesis. aka immature livers
- Animals with decreased gluconeogenesis due to a liver disorder, e.g., portosystemic
shunt (liver under‐developed) or severe liver disease with loss of functional hepatic
mass (e.g., cirrhosis, end‐stage chronic liver disease, severe acute hepatocellular
necrosis).
What are the medically important ketones?
Acetoacetate, acetone, Beta‐hydroxybutyrate (BHB)
Ketone measurement is part of routine…
urine dipstick analysis
If we suspect….we measure ketones.
- diabetes mellitus
- negative energy balance (eg dairy cow)
What samples are used to measure ketones?
urine or milk
Is there a device used to measure the ketone BHB?
Handheld meters can measure BHB (mg/dL) (for use with whole blood). BHB usually measured in ruminants, sometimes in cats.
Not used often in cats