Assistant Professor in Ruminant Medicine North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC, United States
Abstract:
Background: Portable blood glucose (BG) monitors are used for stall side assessment of BG. In small ruminants, serially measuring BG is necessary for certain disease processes. Pending the size, behavior and available help, measuring the BG from the jugular vein may be challenging. Hypothesis/
Objective: The overall object was to compare BG measurements in the jugular vein and ear vein in three different metabolic states. We hypothesize that the ear vein would not be a suitable alternative collection site to assess BG measurements. Animals: Five intact male Boer Goats (8-9 months old) were used for this study. Prior to the study, they were deemed healthy by physical examination.
Methods: Blood glucose measurements were assessed in three induced metabolic states: healthy, hyperglycemia (0.2 mL/kg of 50% dextrose intravenously) and hypoglycemia (0.1 units/kg of short acting insulin intramuscularly). Blood glucose samples were collected from the jugular vein and ear, and were measured using the AlphaTrak3 glucose monitor. All goats were enrolled concurrently and had a 2 day wash out period in between treatments.
Results: All of the goats handled each of the treatments well. A liner mixed model was used. Model assumptions were satisfied. It was found that the sample site did not have an effect on the BG, whereas the treatment did. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: This trial indicates that the ear vein can serve as a suitable alternative sample collection site to assess BG measurements. This will allow for ease of measurement for clinical patients
