Evaluation of portable blood glucose meters for measurement of blood glucose concentration in ferrets (Mustela putorius furo)

Abstract

Significant underestimation of blood glucose concentrations as detected for 3 of the 4 PBGMs used in the study could have a substantial impact on clinical decision making. Verification of blood glucose concentrations in ferrets with a laboratory analyzer is highly recommended.

ASVCP guidelines: quality assurance for portable blood glucose meter (glucometer) use in veterinary medicine

“…The specific human meter used in that study performed better, with a TE a within the ASVCP guideline except for the hypoglycemic samples . The same veterinary glucometer had a lower bias than a human PBGM in a study with ferrets, but only euglycemic and rare hypoglycemic samples were assessed . Additionally, the veterinary PBGM overestimated glucose concentration, and thus hypoglycemic patients may be missed .…”

“…The same veterinary glucometer had a lower bias than a human PBGM in a study with ferrets, but only euglycemic and rare hypoglycemic samples were assessed . Additionally, the veterinary PBGM overestimated glucose concentration, and thus hypoglycemic patients may be missed . These findings emphasize the importance of performance evaluation in all 3 glycemic ranges in the target species …”

Obtaining accurate glucose measurements from wild animals under field conditions: comparing a hand held glucometer with a standard laboratory technique in grey seals

“…Other glucometers intended for use in humans, dogs or cats also perform poorly in wild mammals, such as deer (Burdick et al ., 2012) and prairie dogs (Higbie et al ., 2015). In ferrets ( Mustela putorius furo ) canine, but not human glucometers, perform satisfactorily (Peritz et al ., 2013; Summa et al ., 2014). Unfortunately, there is no way to distinguish the accurate from inaccurate readings from the glucometer alone, and therefore a correction factor cannot be applied.…”

Medical and Surgical Emergencies in Ferrets

“…8,9 Although tempting for its easiness, diagnosis of hypoglycemia should never be based only on the use of portable blood glucose meters (PBGM). PBGM for use in humans unpredictably underestimate blood glucose in ferrets 10 and have specificity for diagnosis of hypoglycemia in ferrets of 50%, 9 which means that half of the ferrets in which the PBGM detect hypoglycemia are actually normoglycemic (false positives). 9 PBGM developed for canine and feline patients (Alphatrak, Abbott, Abbott Park, IL) provide results that are more in agreement with laboratory analyzers.…”

“…9 PBGM developed for canine and feline patients (Alphatrak, Abbott, Abbott Park, IL) provide results that are more in agreement with laboratory analyzers. 10 However, given the clinical importance of the diagnosis, these methods should be mainly used for screening and monitoring instead of for diagnosing. Instead, the diagnosis on presentation should be based on a hexokinase-based laboratory analyzer whenever possible.…”