Practical Solutions to Compliance Challenges in Diabetes Mellitus Management

Presentation Description / Summary: Diabetes mellitus in dogs and cats is a chronic treatable disease and yet, associated with relatively short survival times. One reason for treatment failure is long-term attrition in compliance and growing owner-frustration. In particular, the need to maintain a consistent schedule over years can have a major negative effect on owners’ quality of life, especially when treating patients that do not eat consistently. Financial and time demands imposed by frequent veterinary monitoring of glycemic control can be overwhelming for owners. In countries where insulin is expensive, cost over time can become a major problem as well. In this lecture we will discuss simple and practical solutions to long-term compliance issues. Alternatives to glycemic monitoring that reduce veterinary recheck frequency will be presented. Cost of various insulin formulation and how to fit a low-cost formulation with management strategies that still maintain good control will be discussed. We also discuss use of basal insulins that allow dissociation of feeding for insulin injection, giving owners more flexibility and peace-of-mind.

Learner Outcomes: At the end of this session, the learner will be able to: 1. Choose a cost-effective insulin formulation in various clinical situations 2. Choose a cost-effective monitoring strategy for insulin therapy 3. Describe at least 3 strategies for management of a diabetic with a finicky appetite