The older patient with diabetes: a practical approach

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is very prevalent among persons aged 60–80 years old. This population is expected to increase in number and is characterized by the presence of comorbidities, long standing diabetes, frailty, high rate of cognitive impairment and limited life expectancy. These characteristics have a significant impact on diabetes and treatment among the elderly, much as diabetes predisposes to these conditions. In this article we will describe mechanisms that may lead to insulin resistance and diabetes among the elderly and also how these conditions contribute to the development of frailty and cognitive impairment. Hypoglycemia and it's consequences are important considerations when planning the treatment of diabetes. Treatment options in light of new goals and the danger of hypoglycemia will be detailed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase deficiency with confirmed molecular diagnosis: An important cause of hypoglycemia in children

Objectives:To draw attention towards fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase) deficiency as an important cause of hypoglycemia and lactic acidosis and to implement preventive strategies.Methods:This observational, cross-sectional study was conducted on 7 Saudi patients with genetically confirmed FBPase deficiency from 2008 to 2018 at Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.Results:Participants ranged in age from 1-10 years, and all presented with recurrent hypoglycemia. All but one had associated severe metabolic acidosis, and 3 patients (42.9%) presented with hypoglycemia and severe acidosis since birth. The mean duration from presentation to diagnosis was 39.4 months, as other diagnoses, like glycogen storage diseases and mitochondrial diseases needed to be ruled out. Development was normal apart from speech delay in one patient with a novel variant of the FBP1 gene. All patients have homozygous variants in the FBP1 gene.Conclusion:Fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase is an important cause of hypoglycemia and acidosis; therefore, it is important to offer early molecular diagnostics in any child presenting with these symptoms. Molecular diagnostics should always be undertaken to confirm the diagnosis and for further preventive strategies.     

Design and Implementation of a Web-Based Reporting and Benchmarking Center for Inpatient Glucometrics

Background:Insulin is a top source of adverse drug events in the hospital, and glycemic control is a focus of improvement efforts across the country. Yet, the majority of hospitals have no data to gauge their performance on glycemic control, hypoglycemia rates, or hypoglycemic management. Current tools to outsource glucometrics reports are limited in availability or function.Methods:Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) faculty designed and implemented a web-based data and reporting center that calculates glucometrics on blood glucose data files securely uploaded by users. Unit labels, care type (critical care, non–critical care), and unit type (eg, medical, surgical, mixed, pediatrics) are defined on upload allowing for robust, flexible reporting. Reports for any date range, care type, unit type, or any combination of units are available on demand for review or downloading into a variety of file formats. Four reports with supporting graphics depict glycemic control, hypoglycemia, and hypoglycemia management by patient day or patient stay. Benchmarking and performance ranking reports are generated periodically for all hospitals in the database.Results:In all, 76 hospitals have uploaded at least 12 months of data for non–critical care areas and 67 sites have uploaded critical care data. Critical care benchmarking reveals wide variability in performance. Some hospitals achieve top quartile performance in both glycemic control and hypoglycemia parameters.Conclusions:This new web-based glucometrics data and reporting tool allows hospitals to track their performance with a flexible reporting system, and provides them with external benchmarking. Tools like this help to establish standardized glucometrics and performance standards.     

Insulin use in elderly adults: risk of hypoglycemia and strategies for care

Hypoglycemia is a significant problem in elderly adults with diabetes mellitus. Elderly individuals with diabetes mellitus are at greater risk than younger adults for hypoglycemic events. Several factors contribute to this risk, including the high prevalence of comorbidities, polypharmacy, cognitive impairment, and concomitant use of agents that interfere with glucose metabolism. To minimize the risk of hypoglycemia and maximize the benefits of glycemic control, guidelines typically recommend individualizing glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) targets based on life expectancy, functional status, and individual goals. Although many individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus will ultimately require insulin therapy to achieve and maintain glycemic control, earlier insulin initiation in elderly individuals may be warranted, particularly in those with renal, cardiovascular, or hepatic concerns that could interfere with the use of oral agents. There are few data on the use of insulin-or other glucose-lowering agents-in elderly adults, but limited evidence suggests that the use of insulin, especially insulin analogs, may be appropriate in this population. Insulin analogs offer a better pharmacokinetic profile, greater convenience, and less variable glycemic control than human insulin. Because of the high prevalence of cognitive impairment and other geriatric syndromes in elderly adults, clinicians should perform a comprehensive assessment of patients' ability to administer and monitor insulin therapy and recognize and treat hypoglycemia.     

新生儿低血糖及其治疗管理

新生儿低血糖是临床常见的代谢问题。不论胎龄和日龄,全血葡萄糖2.2 mmol/L诊断为新生儿低血糖,当血糖2.6 mmol/L即需进行临床干预。维持血糖动态稳定是胎儿过渡至新生儿的一个重要生理环节。瞬时低血糖在这期间很常见,但持续或反复性低血糖容易导致严重的急性全身反应,影响新生儿神经系统发育,甚至造成永久性脑损伤。文章在明确新生儿低血糖定义、分类、病因的基础上,探讨其临床管理的进展,以期提高新生儿低血糖的诊断准确率,并达到早期预防、及时干预的目的,减少新生儿低血糖的临床危害。     

The burden of severe hypoglycemia in type 1 diabetes

Aims: Approximately 1.25 million people in the US have type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), a chronic metabolic disease that develops from the body’s inability to produce insulin, and requires life-long insulin therapy. Poor insulin adherence may cause severe hypoglycemia (SHO), leading to hospitalization and long-term complications; these, in turn, drive up costs of SHO and T1DM overall. This study’s objective was to estimate the prevalence and costs of SHO-related hospitalizations and their additional longer-term impacts on patients with T1DM using basal-bolus insulin.

Methods: Using Truven MarketScan claims, we identified adult T1DM patients using basal-bolus insulin regimens who were hospitalized for SHO (inpatient SHO patients) during 2010–2015. Two comparison groups were defined: those with outpatient SHO-related encounters only, including emergency department (ED) visits without hospitalization (outpatient SHO patients), and those with no SHO- or acute hyperglycemia-related events (comparison patients). Lengths of stay and SHO-related hospitalization costs were estimated and propensity score and inverse probability weighting methods were used to adjust for baseline differences across the groups to evaluate longer-term impacts.

Results: We identified 8,734 patients, of which 4.2% experienced at least one SHO-related hospitalization. Among those who experienced SHO (i.e. of those in the inpatient and outpatient SHO groups), 31% experienced at least one SHO-related hospitalization, while 9% were treated in the ED without subsequent hospitalization. Approximately 79% of patients were admitted directly to the hospital; the remainder were first assessed or treated in the ED. The inpatient SHO patients stayed in the hospital, including time in the ED, for 1.7 days and incurred $3551 in costs. About one-third of patients were hospitalized again for SHO. Inpatient SHO patients incurred significantly higher monthly costs after their initial SHO-related hospitalization than patients in the two other groups ($2084 vs $1313 and $1372), corresponding to 59% or 52% higher monthly costs for inpatient SHO patients.

Limitations: These analyses excluded patients who did not seek ED or hospital care when faced with SHO; events may have been miscoded; and we were not able to account for clinical characteristics associated with SHO, such as insulin dose and duration of diabetes, or unmeasured confounders.

Conclusions: The burden associated with SHO is not negligible. About 4% of T1DM patients using basal-bolus insulin regimens are hospitalized at least once due to SHO. Not only did those patients incur the costs of their SHO hospitalization, but they also incur red at least $712 (52%) more in costs per month after their hospitalization than outpatient SHO or comparison patients. Reducing SHO events can help decrease the burden associated with SHO among patients with T1DM.     

压力接种训练对改善社区留守老年糖尿病患者低血糖恐惧的效果

目的 探讨压力接种训练在社区留守老年糖尿病患者低血糖恐惧中的应用效果。 方法 将长春市6个社区中存在低血糖恐惧的留守老年糖尿病患者126例随机分为对照组与观察组各63例,对照组给予常规心理干预,观察组在常规心理干预的基础上实施压力接种训练。比较两组干预前及干预8周后的低血糖恐惧评分及血糖水平。 结果 干预后观察组低血糖恐惧得分及空腹血糖、餐后2 h血糖、糖化血红蛋白显著低于对照组（均P＜0.01）。 结论 压力接种训练可降低社区留守老年糖尿病患者低血糖恐惧,改善患者血糖水平。