From:
"Tony Clarke"
Date: 2007-06-07 23:21:17 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: ferret inappetite and lathargic; not responding to treatment.
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
--- In ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com, "Tony
Clarke" <Tonytclarke@...> wrote:
>
> --- In ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com, "Al
> Johnston" <al.johnston@> wrote:
> >
Blood sent away for testing may
> show lower results than the true figure as the insulin in the
> blood will continue to work while it is transit.
>
Tried to write the above from memory and got it slightly
wrong. See link and quote below.
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/PDF/insulinoma.pdf
Start quote...
The practice of fasting prior to blood
glucose test is controversial, especially
during initial workup for hypoglycemia.
The majority of insulinomic ferrets will
exhibit hypoglycemia without fasting, and
may be thrown into a crisis situation
following a fast..
Laboratory error is usually the most
common use of spurious hypoglycemia.
When blood is drawn from a vein, the red
blood cells in the tube will continue to
utilize glucose, thereby artificially lowering
the measured glucose value. (How are they
supposed to know they're not in a vein?).
For this reason, all hypoglycemic patients
should have their blood glucose test repeated
on a separate day with careful attention to
laboratory technique. The use of gas
anesthesia during the blood draw will not
affect the levels of glucose in the sample.
Definitive diagnosis of insulinoma is made
in the vast majority of cases by a blood
glucose test =96 rapid, cost-effective, and
gloriously simple. In cases in which the
glucose level is less than 60 g/dl (normal in
the ferret is 80-120 g/dl), the presence of an
insulinoma is assured (even without
corroborative evidence of clinical signs. If
the blood glucose reading is between 60 and
80 g/dl, concomitant clinical signs of
hypoglycemia are required to make the
diagnosis. In cases in which the glucose
level exceeds 80 mg, other forms of
neurologic diseases should be investigated
as well. Remember that insulin secretion in
some tumors is sporadic, and
normoglycemia one day may become
hypoglycemia the next.
Bruce H. Williams, DVM
End Quote
>
> Tony (not a vet), Sugar and Suki.
> In memory of Sally and Sue.
>
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:ferrethealth-digest@yahoogroups.com
mailto:ferrethealth-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
ferrethealth-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/