SERUM FRUCTOSAMINE AS A SCREENING-TEST FOR DIABETES-MELLITUS IN NON-HEALTHY MIDDLE-AGED TO OLDER DOGS

Diabetes mellitus is a common endocrine disorder among non-healthy mid dle-aged to older dogs. Previous studies have shown that serum fructos amine can be used to detect the chronic unregulated hyperglycaemia in Diabetes mellitus. The present study was therefore conducted to assess the value of serum fructosamine as a screening test for Diabetes mell itus among non-healthy middle-aged to older dogs in terms of sensitivi ty, specificity, positive and negative predictive values. A total of 9 9 non-healthy dogs (16 dogs with Diabetes mellitus and 83 dogs with ot her diseases) with an age ranging from 6 to 15 years were included in the study. Using the upper reference limit for serum fructosamine (343 .8 mu mol/l), sensitivity and specificity were 0.88 and 0.99, respecti vely and assuming the prevalence of Diabetes mellitus to be 0.05, the positive and negative predictive values were 0.82 and 0.99, respective ly. Apparently, serum fructosamine could also be used to distinguish h yperglycaemia non-diabetic dogs from hyperglycaemic diabetic dogs. Thu s, the present study showed that serum fructosamine is a reliable scre ening test for Diabetes mellitus among non-healthy middle-aged to olde r dogs.