High blood sugar in hospitalized cats and its risks

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To report the prevalence of hyperglycemia in cats admitted to a veterinary hospital and to determine if hyperglycemic cats had increased morbidity and mortality when compared with normoglycemic cats. DESIGN - Retrospective clinical study. SETTING: Community-based referral hospital. ANIMALS: Nondiabetic cats admitted to the hospital. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The medical records of nondiabetic cats admitted to the hospital over a 1-year period were reviewed. There were 182 cats that met the criteria for inclusion in the study. Information obtained included signalment, length of hospitalization, initial and highest blood glucose measurement, diagnosis, treatment, and final disposition. Sixty-three percent of cats (116/182) were hyperglycemic at the time of presentation. Total incidence of hyperglycemia at any point during hospitalization was 64% (118/182). No association was found between hyperglycemia either initially or at any point during the hospitalization and mortality. However, a significant association was documented between the presence of hyperglycemia and increased length of hospitalization (LOH) (P=0.04). The duration of LOH was also significantly associated with the degree of hyperglycemia (P=0.01). A number of different disease processes were represented in the study population. However, the number of cats in each disease category was small and no association could be found between any of them and blood glucose affecting mortality and morbidity. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of hyperglycemia in feline patients admitted to a primary referral hospital was 64%. Cats with hyperglycemia had a longer LOH when compared with normoglycemic cats; however, presence of hyperglycemia did not impact mortality in this population of cats.