Canine insulinoma
Valerie Garuccio
Friday, December 2, 2016
Hypoglycaemia is commonly seen in veterinary emergency rooms and may be caused by a multitude of disease processes. Patients with hypoglycaemia may display symptoms of weakness, ataxia and in severe cases, seizures. Hypoglycaemia is often described when serum blood glucose levels fall below 3.5 mmol/litre. The veterinarian must rule out potential causes of hypoglycaemia including sepsis, hepatic disease, hypoadrenocorticism, insulin overdose, cancer and toxin exposure. If the patient is sub-clinical it is important to rule out a lab or sampling error and consider the possibility of an insulinoma. Although rare in canines, the triage nurse should be familiar with the complications that can arise when treating these patients. This article will discuss the aetiology and physiology of a disease that may be overlooked in a busy emergency room.
Subscribe to get full access to The Veterinary Nurse
Thank you for vising The Veterinary nurse and reading our archive of expert clinical content. If you would like to read more from the leading peer-reviewed journal for veterinary nurses, you can start your subscription today for just £26.
Subscribing will enable you to:
- Stay up-to-date with current thinking and best practice in veterinary medicine
- Enhance your knowledge and understanding of all key clinical topics
- Achieve the mandatory requirement of 45 hours' documented CPD over a three-year period