Evaluation of the Correlation of Arterial and Venous Lactate and Glucose Concentrations in Anesthetized Critically Ill Dogs.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the correlation between arterial and venous concentrations of lactate and glucose and to explore the relationship between hyperlactatemia and hyperglycemia in critically ill dogs.

DESIGN

Prospective clinical study.

SETTING

University veterinary teaching hospital.

ANIMALS: Ninety client-owned dogs presenting for emergency surgery between June 2015 and March 2024.

INTERVENTIONS: None.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN

RESULTS

Arterial and venous blood samples were collected from the dorsal pedal artery and jugular vein, respectively, ≤5 min apart to measure lactate and glucose concentrations with portable devices. Dogs with known diabetes mellitus were excluded. Based on arterial blood, 35 of 90 dogs (38.9%) were hyperlactatemic, 49 (54.4%) were hyperglycemic, and 9 (10.0%) were hypoglycemic. Based on venous blood, 41 of 90 dogs (45.6%) were hyperlactatemic, 46 (51.1%) were hyperglycemic, and 8 (8.9%) were hypoglycemic. A very strong correlation was found between arterial and venous lactate and glucose concentrations (ρ = 0.850; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.766-0.905; p < 0.001 and ρ = 0.970; 95% CI: 0.950-0.982; p < 0.001, respectively). In dogs with arterial hyperlactatemia, a very strong correlation was found between arterial and venous samples (ρ = 0.835; 95% CI: 0.683-0.918; p < 0.001), whereas the correlation was fair in normolactatemic dogs (ρ = 0.488; 95% CI: 0.224-0.685; p < 0.001). The sensitivity and specificity of venous lactate to detect arterial hyperlactatemia were 81.8% and 88.6%, respectively. No correlation was found between arterial lactate and glucose concentrations (ρ = -0.57; 95% CI: -0.261 to -0.152; p = 0.593).

CONCLUSIONS

Venous lactate and glucose concentrations correlated well with arterial values; however, hyperlactatemia was not correlated with hyperglycemia. Venous blood sampling offers a practical and reliable method for assessing lactate and glucose concentrations in critically ill dogs, reducing the need for arterial sampling in emergency situations.