Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cats with diabetic ketoacidosis can go into diabetes remission
By Sieber-Ruckstuhl, N S et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2008·Clinic for Small Animal Internal Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Remission of diabetes mellitus in cats with diabetic ketoacidosis.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of cats diagnosed with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) were studied to see if they could go into remission from diabetes. Out of twelve cats with DKA, seven achieved remission after treatment, meaning they showed no signs of diabetes for at least a month after stopping insulin. These cats often had higher white blood cell counts and were more likely to have had prior treatment with glucocorticoids (a type of steroid). This suggests that remission from diabetes is possible in cats with DKA, especially if they have certain health indicators.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) has long been considered a key clinical feature of type-1 diabetes mellitus (DM) in humans although. An increasing number of cases of ketoacidosis have been reported in people with type-2 DM. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: Cats initially diagnosed with DKA can achieve remission from diabetes. Cats with DKA and diabetic remission are more likely to have been administered glucocorticoids before diagnosis. ANIMALS: Twelve cats with DKA and 7 cats with uncomplicated DM. METHODS: Retrospective case review. Medical records of cats presenting with DKA or DM were evaluated. Diabetic remission was defined as being clinically unremarkable for at least 1 month after insulin withdrawal. The cats were assigned to 1 of 3 groups: (1) cats with DKA and diabetic remission; (2) cats with DKA without diabetic remission; and (3) cats with DM and diabetic remission. RESULTS: Seven cats with DKA had remission from diabetes. These cats had significantly higher concentrations of leukocytes and segmented neutrophils, and significantly lower concentrations of eosinophils in blood and had pancreatic disease more often than did cats with uncomplicated DM and diabetic remission. With regard to pretreatment, 3/7 cats in group 1, 1/5 cats in group 2, and 1/7 cats in group 3 had been treated with glucocorticoids. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Remission of DM in cats presenting with DKA is possible. Cats with DKA and remission have more components of a stress leucogram, pancreatic disease, and seemed to be treated more often with glucocorticoids than cats with uncomplicated DM and diabetic remission.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19000245/