Blood glucose in horses with acute abdominal disease.

Background: Hyperglycemia in critically ill humans is associated with increased glucose production and insulin resistance and is associated with death. This might also be true in horses presenting with acute abdominal disease.

Hypothesis: Throughout hospitalization, hyperglycemia will be common in adult horses presenting with acute abdominal disease. Hyperglycemia will be associated with a worse prognosis for survival to hospital discharge.

Animals: Two hundred sixty-nine adult horses with acute abdominal disease.

Methods: Observational retrospective study. Records were reviewed for 269 horses that had glucose data analysed and recorded at the time of hospital admission: 154 horses had a first sample after admission; 110 horses at 24 hours after admission; 74 horses at 36 hours after admission; and 49 horses at 48 hours after admission. Logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate the association of glucose concentrations with survival, in addition to the association of glucose concentrations with surgical, small intestinal, strangulating lesions, and lesions requiring a resection.

Results: Of 269 horses presenting with acute abdominal disease, 50.2% had blood glucose concentrations greater than the reference range (75.6-131.4 mg/dL); 0.4%, below the reference range; and 49.4%, within the reference range at admission. Of 269 horses, 2.3% had blood glucose concentrations below the reference range at some point during the first 48 hours of hospitalization, all of which had strangulating intestinal lesions. Horses that did not survive to hospital discharge had a higher mean blood glucose concentration at admission; at the first sample after admission; at 24, 36, and 48 hours after admission; and higher maximum and minimum blood glucose concentrations in the first 24 hours after admission.

Conclusions And Clinical Importance: Derangements of blood glucose concentration are common in horses with acute abdominal disease. Hyperglycemia is much more common than hypoglycemia in these animals. Hyperglycemia in the first 48 hours of hospitalization is associated with a worse prognosis for survival to hospital discharge.