Oikonomidis Ioannis L, Daravigka Alexandra, Ceron Jose J, Tvarijonaviciute Asta, Lambrou Froso, Tzenetidou Zoi, Konstantinidis Alexandros O, Soubasis Nectarios
Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Studies, University of Liverpool, Neston, UK.
Companion Animal Clinic, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Vet Rec. 2025 Jan 18;196(2):e4843. doi: 10.1002/vetr.4843. Epub 2024 Dec 2.
Glucocorticoids have been associated with an increased risk of developing diabetes mellitus (DM) in dogs. Glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and serum fructosamine have been scarcely studied in dogs receiving glucocorticoid therapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate HbA1c and fructosamine in non-diabetic dogs receiving oral prednisolone.
This was a cross-sectional study including non-diabetic dogs receiving oral prednisolone for 2 weeks or more for a diverse range of diseases. Aliquots of blood samples collected for diagnostic purposes were used. HbA1c was measured using a previously validated capillary electrophoresis assay. Fructosamine was measured using the nitroblue tetrazolium assay.
Forty-three adult dogs were included. The dogs received oral prednisolone (0.1‒2.3 mg/kg daily) for a median duration of 8 weeks (range: 2‒52 weeks). The median (range) glucose, fructosamine and HbA1c were 5.3 (2.6‒9.2) mmol/L, 265 (128‒388) µmol/L and 1.6% (0.8‒2.7%), respectively. Glucose increased in nine of the 43 dogs (16.2%), while fructosamine increased in eight of the 33 dogs in which it was tested (24.2%). HbA1c did not increase in any of the 40 dogs in which it was tested.
The cross-sectional study design is a limitation, as more conclusions could be drawn in a longitudinal study.
HbA1c does not appear to be increased in sick, non-diabetic dogs receiving oral prednisolone for 2 weeks or more at the doses used in our study, whereas increases in serum fructosamine are not uncommon.
糖皮质激素与犬患糖尿病（DM）风险增加有关。糖化血红蛋白（HbA1c）和血清果糖胺在接受糖皮质激素治疗的犬中鲜有研究。本研究旨在评估接受口服泼尼松龙的非糖尿病犬的HbA1c和果糖胺。
这是一项横断面研究，纳入因多种疾病接受口服泼尼松龙2周或更长时间的非糖尿病犬。使用为诊断目的采集的血样等分试样。采用先前验证的毛细管电泳法测定HbA1c。使用硝基蓝四氮唑法测定果糖胺。
纳入43只成年犬。犬每日口服泼尼松龙（0.1‒2.3毫克/千克），中位疗程为8周（范围：2‒52周）。葡萄糖、果糖胺和HbA1c的中位数（范围）分别为5.3（2.6‒9.2）毫摩尔/升、265（128‒388）微摩尔/升和1.6%（0.8‒2.7%）。43只犬中有9只（16.2%）血糖升高，33只接受检测的犬中有8只（24.2%）果糖胺升高。40只接受检测的犬中无一例HbA1c升高。
横断面研究设计是一个局限性，因为纵向研究可以得出更多结论。
在我们研究中使用的剂量下，接受口服泼尼松龙2周或更长时间的患病非糖尿病犬的HbA1c似乎没有升高，而血清果糖胺升高并不罕见。
