Background: Monitoring blood glucose and ketone concentrations is essential in diabetic cats. Point-of-care devices capable of measuring both parameters might improve clinical monitoring; however, independent validation in cats is limited.
Hypothesis/
Objectives: To evaluate the accuracy and clinical agreement of a point-of-care meter (CentriVet GK) for measurement of whole blood β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) and glucose in diabetic cats.
Animals: Sixty-nine diabetic cats.
Methods: Prospective observational study. Fresh whole blood BHB and glucose concentrations were measured using the CentriVet GK meter three times in series, and the mean value was compared to the value from a reference laboratory. Cats were categorized to have low ( < 0.5 mmol/L), medium (0.6–1.9 mmol/L), or high (≥ 2.0 mmol/L) BHB concentrations based on a single measurement of BHB with the previously-validated Precision Xtra meter. Correlation was assessed using Spearman or Pearson analysis as appropriate. Agreement and bias were evaluated using Bland–Altman plots and weighted kappa statistics.
Results: Across all groups (n = 55), BHB measurements demonstrated strong correlation between devices (r = 0.94; p < .0001) with minimal bias [0.09 (-0.22 – 0.39) mmol/L]. Correlation remained strong within medium and high BHB categories. Categorical agreement was high, with 66/69 (95.7%) concordant classifications and a weighted kappa of 0.95, indicating excellent clinical agreement.
Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Results suggest that the CentriVet GK meter provides accurate clinically reliable measurements of BHB in diabetic cats. Validation of a single point-of-care device capable of measuring both glucose and ketones might facilitate earlier detection of ketonemia and improve clinical monitoring.
