Background: Phenylbutazone is often prescribed to manage pain caused by hyperinsulinemia-associated laminitis, but in diabetic people nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs increase insulin secretion and pancreatic activity.
Hypothesis/objectives: Investigate the effect of phenylbutazone administration on insulin secretion in horses. It was hypothesized that phenylbutazone will increase insulin secretion in horses with insulin dysregulation (ID).
Animals: Sixteen light breed horses, including 7 with ID.
Methods: Randomized cross-over study design. Horses underwent an oral glucose test (OGT) after 9 days of treatment with phenylbutazone (4.4 mg/kg IV q24h) or placebo (5 mL 0.9% saline). After a 10-day washout period, horses received the alternative treatment, and a second OGT was performed. Insulin and glucose responses were compared between groups (ID or controls) and treatments using paired t test and analyses of variance with P < .05 considered significant.
Results: In horses with ID, phenylbutazone treatment significantly decreased glucose concentration (P = .02), glucose area under the curve (2429 ± 501.5 vs 2847 ± 486.1 mmol/L × min, P = .02), insulin concentration (P = .03) and insulin area under the curve (17 710 ± 6676 vs 22 930 ± 8788 μIU/mL × min, P = .03) in response to an OGT. No significant effect was detected in control horses.
Conclusion and clinical importance: Phenylbutazone administration in horses with ID decreases glucose and insulin concentrations in response to an OGT warranting further investigation of a therapeutic potential of phenylbutazone in the management of hyperinsulinemia-associated laminitis beyond analgesia.
Keywords: endocrinology; equine metabolic syndrome; hyperinsulinemia; laminitis; nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; obesity; oral glucose test.
© 2024 The Authors. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.