Effect of site of sample collection on blood glucose concentrations measured with a portable blood glucose meter in healthy and diabetic dogs

Background: Blood glucose (BG) monitoring with portable blood glucose meters (PBGMs) is a critical aspect of managing canine diabetes mellitus. Some dogs best tolerate sampling from the ear, others from the lip, and others from other body sites. Therefore, it is relevant to know if the choice of the sampling site affects the glucose concentration. Aim: To compare different sampling sites for BG measurement in diabetic and non-diabetic dogs using veterinary PBGM. Moreover, determining the possible impact of body condition score (BCS) on BG concentration. Methods: Thirty-seven healthy and 12 diabetic dogs were included. A veterinary PBGM was used to measure BG concentrations in a total of 196 blood samples collected from the marginal ear vein (MEV), carpal pad, saphenous vein, and cephalic vein. The results obtained from the different sampling sites were compared. Results: The carpal pad, MEV, cephalic vein, and saphenous vein BG values were not significantly different at the different blood collection sites. There was no significant difference between higher and lower BCS in BG measurements in the different sampling sites. Conclusion: Different sampling sites, likewise utilizing either a venous or capillary sample, had no significant effect on BG measurement using veterinary PBGMs. The BCS seems to have no relevant influence on dog BG measurement.