Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How medetomidine affects insulin and glucose in dogs with insulinoma
By Guedes, Alonso G P & Rude, Elaine P·Published in Veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia·2013·Veterinary Clinical Sciences Department, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Effects of pre-operative administration of medetomidine on plasma insulin and glucose concentrations in healthy dogs and dogs with insulinoma.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with insulinoma (a type of pancreatic tumor that affects insulin production) underwent surgery, and some received a medication called medetomidine before anesthesia. The results showed that medetomidine helped lower insulin levels and raise blood sugar levels in both healthy dogs and those with insulinoma. This means that dogs with insulinoma needed less glucose during surgery if they had received medetomidine beforehand. Using medetomidine can be beneficial for managing anesthesia in dogs with insulinoma, making the procedure safer.
People also search for: dog insulinoma treatment · medetomidine for dogs · dog surgery blood sugar management
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of medetomidine on plasma glucose and insulin concentrations in dogs with insulinoma and in healthy dogs undergoing anesthesia and surgery. ANIMALS: Twenty-five dogs with insulinoma and 26 healthy dogs. METHODS: In dogs with insulinoma, medetomidine (5 μg kg(-1) ) was randomly included (n = 12) or omitted (n = 13) from the pre-anesthetic medication protocol, which typically contained an opioid and an anticholinergic. Healthy dogs received medetomidine (5 μg kg(-1) ; n = 13) or acepromazine (0.04 mg kg(-1) ; n = 13) plus an opioid (morphine 0.5 mg kg(-1) ) and an anticholinergic (atropine 0.04 mg kg(-1) ) as pre-anesthetic medications. Pre-anesthetic medications were given intramuscularly. Plasma glucose and insulin concentrations were measured before (sample 1) and 30 minutes after pre-anesthetic medication (sample 2), and at the end of surgery in dogs with insulinoma or at 2 hours of anesthesia in healthy dogs (sample 3). Glucose requirement to maintain intra-operative normoglycemia in dogs with insulinoma was quantified and compared. Data were analyzed with anova and Bonferroni post-test, t-tests or chi-square tests as appropriate with p < 0.05 considered significant. Data are shown as mean ± SD. RESULTS: Medetomidine significantly decreased plasma insulin concentrations and increased plasma glucose concentrations in healthy dogs and those with insulinoma. These variables did not change significantly in the dogs not receiving medetomidine. In the dogs with insulinoma, intra-operative glucose administration rate was significantly less in the animals that received medetomidine compared to those that did not. CONCLUSIONS: Pre-anesthetic administration of medetomidine significantly suppressed insulin secretion and increased plasma glucose concentration in dogs with insulinoma and in healthy dogs undergoing anesthesia and surgery. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: These findings support the judicious use of medetomidine at low doses as an adjunct to the anesthetic management of dogs with insulinoma.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23714015/