Today's Veterinary Practice

MAY-JUN 2014

Today's Veterinary Practice provides comprehensive information to keep every small animal practitioner up to date on companion animal medicine and surgery as well as practice building and management.

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Elevating the standard of diabetic care ADVERTORIAL Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common endocrine disorders veterinarians encounter in day-to-day practice. Still, the management of these cases within a practice may differ from one clinician to the next. To ensure each pet owner receives a consistent message from every doctor and staff member, it's important to establish a diabetes management protocol within every practice. A new protocol for glucose curve evaluation In the recently published protocol for diabetic management, 1 Audrey K. Cook, BVM&S;, MRCVS, DACVIM, DECVIM provides a step-by-step process for making decisions based on the nadir and average blood glucose values and the duration of insulin effect. The protocol also includes factors to consider to verify the reliability of the curve, including proper intervals between blood glucose collection and adequate number of readings to determine insulin duration. The importance of home glucose monitoring While the glucose curve is the foundation for making deci- sions about insulin type and dose, client perceptions and patient status must be considered, as well. 1 Home glucose monitoring may help improve pet owner comfort. Clients who measure blood glucose at home may feel less anxious because they have a better understanding of the link between insulin and blood glucose, and they may feel more actively involved in their pets' treatment. 1 Blood glucose values collected at home also tend to be more accurate when not infuenced by the stress of hospitalization. 1 Pets are more likely to eat and exercise as they normally would. Additionally, obtaining a 12-hour curve can be completed with ease at home. This not only helps save the client both time and money but also frees up the hospital staff, which helps the clinic run more effciently. Working as a team When instituting a diabetes management protocol, it's important that all team members are knowledgeable about the protocols and consistently adhere to them. This will pro- vide a continuity of care that clients appreciate, especially if they are unable to see the same veterinarian for every appointment. To improve the success of home glucose monitoring, the veterinary team should work closely with the client to mitigate fears and build their confdence doing capillary sampling and utilizing the blood glucose monitor. Routine appointments should be scheduled at least quarterly to examine the pet, discuss any client questions or concerns and review the glucose data. 1 The comprehensive protocol for diabetic management can be found at: www.veterinaryteambrief.com/diabeticmanagement. © 2014 Abbott Laboratories. AlphaTRAK is a registered trademark of the Abbott Group of companies in various jurisdictions. AT2-2039 References 1. Cook AK, Lee JG, Lynch H. A protocol for diabetic management [clinical brief]. Veterinary Team Brief 2013; 1(6 suppl):1-8. Available at: www.veterinaryteambrief.com/diabeticmanagement. Accessed March 9, 2014. For more information on AlphaTRAK, contact your distributor sales rep or call Abbott Animal Health Customer Service at 888-299-7416. The importance of diabetes protocols Sara Ford, DVM, DACVIM Chief of internal medicine VCA Emergency Hospital & Referral Center San Diego, CA Rachel Poulin, RVT, VTS (SAIM) Internal medicine team leader, Coral Springs Animal Hospital Coral Springs, FL "Clients are so appreciative of the time and energy put into educating them on diabetes and capillary sampling. When the benefts of capillary sampling are explained, the anxiety starts to fade. By investing that time and education into the client, you build a good reputation and earn the trust and respect of your client, which makes them more likely to give you excellent reviews and recommend your clinic to friends." "The biggest advantage of home monitoring for practitioners is the signifcantly greater understanding of their patients' glycemic regulation as well as the ability to obtain accurate blood glucose data that are not infuenced by hospital stress or a truncated hospital schedule. The professional satisfaction gleaned from achieving diabetic remission in the cat and avoiding diabetic cataracts in the dog cannot be underestimated. The veterinarian will undoubtedly have a client for life." Benefts of using AlphaTRAK ® blood glucose monitoring system to support home monitoring as discussed in the Clinical Brief: A Protocol for Diabetic Management Specifcally calibrated for cats and dogs for accurate readings Small sample size requiring only 0.3 µL of blood Advanced test strip technology for easy wicking 2014-0506_JournalClub-DIabetes.indd 93 5/24/2014 11:02:38 AM

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