AEMV ForumUse of a Commercial Continuous Interstitial Glucose Monitor in Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
Introduction
In human medicine, continuous interstitial glucose monitoring (CIGM) is an essential tool for modern diabetes therapy. The technology has been developed as an alternative to traditional blood glucose monitoring methods. The predominant aims of CIGM are to improve glycemic control and to prevent hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia to delay the onset of diabetic complications, thereby improving both patient treatment response and quality of life. Several CIGM systems are available for the human market, some of which have been used over the last few years to evaluate blood glucose levels in veterinary patients. The main use of CIGM in veterinary medicine is monitoring the insulin response of cats and dogs that are often hospitalized for the diagnosis and the treatment of diabetes.1 The use of the glucose monitoring technology in this manner sheds light on the physiological changes in glucose concentration over a prolonged period without interference from handling or from other stressors, thereby providing insight into longitudinal changes in the animalʼs glucose metabolism. To the knowledge of the authors, the normal glucose pattern of the rabbit has not been investigated over a prolonged period using a commercially available CIGM device. The correlation of blood glucose with interstitial glucose in the rabbit was previously described using custom-made monitors.2 This study describes the longitudinal pattern of interstitial glucose values for the domestic rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and describes the feasibility of using a CIGM system in this species while at the veterinary hospital or at the patientʼs home.
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Animals
A total of 7 New Zealand white rabbits were used for the study described in this article and they were housed at the animal-holding facilities located at the University of Georgia, College of Veterinary Medicine. The animals were involved with another study; however, the CIGM devices were implanted 24 hours before the start of the primary research project. At the time of device implantation, the animals had been housed at the facilities for 7 days as part of the conditioning period. The animals
Results
Subcutaneous insertion of the probe was performed under manual restraint and did not result in significant clinical problems in most subject animals. The small bore of the catheter did not produce a noticeable pain reaction from most animals; however, the thickened skin of the dorsal body surface required application of a moderate amount of force when implanting the probe through the skin. If the needles were not inserted through the skin in 1 swift movement, there was the risk of bending the
Discussion
Continuous glucose monitoring systems have proven reliable in small animal patients for monitoring sick/hospitalized and long-term stable diabetic patients and critically ill animals without diabetes.1, 2, 3, 4 Although blood glucose measurement in rabbits was recently investigated using different diagnostic methods,5, 6 no longitudinal observation of the blood glucose curve in rabbits has been reported to date. A precursor of the CGIM unit used in the research investigation described in this
Conclusion
The results of this study provide the first description of the longitudinal glucose pattern of the rabbit. The authorsʼ findings also agree with those of another publication, which suggest that persistent, substantially elevated blood glucose levels above the reference range in the rabbit are potentially associated with serious medical problems, and should not merely be attributed to acute stress or excitement as in cats.6
However, it must be emphasized that the data obtained during this study
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Ethan Karstedt, RVT for his technical assistance with this article.
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Cited by (4)
Sedation and Anesthesia in Rodents
2022, Veterinary Clinics of North America - Exotic Animal PracticeCitation Excerpt :Preparation for sedation or anesthesia begins prior to arrival of the patient to the hospital. Stress levels in rabbits are elevated by the period of travel from their home,19 a finding that has not been studied in rodents but is likely a shared stressor. It is recommended to allow rodents an hour in the hospital environment to acclimate in a dark, quiet, and safe area before pursuing anesthesia, as a means of reducing morbidity.
Basic Approach to Veterinary Care of Rabbits
2020, Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents: Clinical Medicine and SurgeryEvidence-Based Advances in Rabbit Medicine
2017, Veterinary Clinics of North America - Exotic Animal PracticeCitation Excerpt :The addition of approximately 10 mg/dL to the results obtained with the human PBGM would provide the more reliable result. The use of commercial continuous interstitial glucose monitoring has been shown to be feasible in rabbits.36 The results confirmed normal physiologic glucose concentration to be between 100 and 200 mg/dL, similar to phlebotomy.
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