Monitoring of diabetic dogs

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common endocrine disorders in the dog. Although diagnostics are relatively straightforward, treatment and especially adequate long-term monitoring are challenging. To avoid complications, such as hypoglycemia, weight loss, diabetes ketoacidosis and urinary tract infections, adequate monitoring is indispensable. In this review different monitoring tools, such as history and clinical signs, single and serial blood glucose measurements, glycated blood products, continuous glucose measurements and urine glucose will be evaluated. Because each monitoring technique has its limitations, the challenge for the veterinarian is to use an adequate combination of these tools to obtain a good image of the patient’s glycemic status.