Prednisolone-induced diabetes mellitus in the cat: a historical cohort.

Sivert Nerhagen,Hanne L Moberg,Barbara Glanemann,Gudrun S Boge

doi:10.1177/1098612x20943522

Sivert Nerhagen, Hanne L Moberg + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1177/1098612x20943522

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Abstract

Prednisolone is a commonly used drug in cats and potential adverse effects include hyperglycaemia and diabetes mellitus. The aims of this study were to evaluate the frequency and investigate potential predisposing risk factors for the development of prednisolone-induced diabetes mellitus (PIDM) in cats. The electronic records of a tertiary referral centre were searched for cats receiving prednisolone at a starting dose of ⩾1.9 mg/kg/day, for >3 weeks and with follow-up data available for >3 months between January 2007 and July 2019. One hundred and forty-three cats were included in the study. Of the 143 cats, 14 cats (9.7%) were diagnosed with PIDM. Twelve out of 14 cats (85.7%) developed diabetes within 3 months of the initiation of therapy. Cats requiring high-dose prednisolone therapy should be closely monitored over the first 3 months of therapy for the development of PIDM.

Highlights

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most commonly diagnosed endocrine diseases in cats
DM is characterised by clinical signs including polyuria and polydipsia due to persistent hyperglycaemia and glucosuria as well as polyphagia and weight loss owing to an absolute or relative lack of insulin.[1]
Cats were considered to have developed prednisolone-induced diabetes mellitus (PIDM) if they had typical clinical signs associated with DM and if they had fulfilled one of the following criteria: (1) hyperglycaemia (>8.1 mmol/l on more than two occasions) in conjunction with glucosuria; and (2) hyperglycaemia in conjunction with increased fructosamine levels

Summary

Introduction

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most commonly diagnosed endocrine diseases in cats. Glucocorticoid-induced diabetes mellitus (GIDM) is well recognised in humans.[6] Dose and duration of therapy as well as patient body weight, among others, have been described as risk factors for the development of GIDM. Glucocorticoids have been suggested as a predisposing factor for the development of DM4 and experimental studies have shown the diabetogenic effects of prednisolone, dexamethasone, methylprednisolone and fluorohydrocortisone in cats.[7,8,9,10] Despite prednisolone being perhaps the most commonly used glucocorticoid in cats, prednisoloneinduced diabetes mellitus (PIDM) is a poorly described entity in clinical practice.

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