Diabetes Flashcards
(101 cards)
Ix T1DM (5 things)
urine dip: glucose and ketones
fasting glucose and random glucose
HbA1c: may not accurately reflect a recent rapid rise in serum glucose
C-peptide: low
diabetes-specific autoantibodies: useful to distinguish between type 1 and type 2 diabetes
T1DM autoantibodies
- glutamic acid decarboxylase (anti-GAD)
- insulin (IAA)
- islet cells (ICA)
- insulinoma-associated-2 (IA-2A)
T1DM diagnostic criteria
symptomatic:
- fasting glucose >7.0 mmol/l
- random glucose > 11.1 mmol/l
(or after 75g oral glucose tolerance test)
asymptomatic:
- above criteria demonstrated on two separate occasions.
T1DM
- age
- speed of onset
- features
- < 20 years
- more acute, hours-days
- features of DKA, weight loss, ketonuria
T2DM
- age
- speed of onset
- features
- > 40 years
- slower, weeks-months
- milder symptoms, polyuria, polydipsia, obesity, ketonuria is rare
T2DM diagnostic criteria
symptomatic:
- fasting glucose >7.0 mmol/l
- random glucose >11.1 mmol/l
(or after 75g oral glucose tolerance test)
asymptomatic
- above criteria apply but must be demonstrated on two separate occasions.
HbA1c diagnosis of diabetes
HbA1c >48 mmol/mol (6.5%) = diabetes mellitus
cause of misleading HbA1c results
increased red cell turnover
conditions where HbA1c may not be used for diagnosis:
haemoglobinopathies
haemolytic anaemia, untreated iron deficiency anaemia
suspected gestational diabetes
children
HIV
chronic kidney disease
people taking medication that may cause hyperglycaemia (for example corticosteroids)
fasting glucose
>6.1 but <7.0 mmol/l implies
impaired fasting glucose (IFG)
Impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) is defined as
fasting glucose greater than or equal to 6.1 but less than 7.0 mmol/l implies
OGTT 2-hour value greater than or equal to 7.8 mmol/l but less than 11.1 mmol/l
The main focus of diabetes management now is
reducing incidence of complications:
- macrovascular: ischaemic heart disease, stroke
- microvascular: eye, nerves and kidney damage
T1DM
an autoimmune disorder where insulin-producing beta cells of the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas are destroyed by the immune system
this results in an absolute deficiency of insulin resulting in raised glucose levels
patients tend to develop T1DM in childhood/early adult life and typically present unwell, possibly in diabetic ketoacidosis
T2DM
most common cause of diabetes in the developed world.
relative deficiency of insulin due to an excess of adipose tissue.
in simple terms there isn’t enough insulin to ‘go around’ all the excess fatty tissue, leading to blood glucose creeping up.
prediabetes
patients who don’t yet meet the criteria for a formal diagnosis of T2DM to be made but are likely to develop the condition over the next few years.
they require closer monitoring and lifestyle interventions such as weight loss
gestational diabetes
raised glucose levels during pregnancy.
important to detect as untreated it may lead to adverse outcomes for the mother and baby
maturity onset diabetes of the young (MODY)
group of inherited genetic disorders affecting the production of insulin.
results in younger patients developing symptoms similar to those with T2DM
asymptomatic hyperglycaemia with progression to more severe complications such as diabetic ketoacidosis
latent autoimmune diabetes of adults (LADA)
majority of patients with autoimmune-related diabetes present younger in life.
there are however a small group of patients who develop such problems later in life.
these patients are often misdiagnosed as having T2DM
pathological processes which damage insulin-producing cells of pancreas and cause diabetes to develop.
chronic pancreatitis
haemochromatosis
drugs which cause raised glucose levels
glucocorticoid
polyuria and polydipsia are due to
water being ‘dragged’ out of the body
due to the osmotic effects of excess blood glucose being excreted in the urine (glycosuria).
four main ways to check blood glucose:
finger-prick bedside glucose monitor
one-off blood glucose
- fasting
- non-fasting
HbA1c
- measures amount of glycosylated haemoglobin
- represents average blood glucose over past 2-3 months
glucose tolerance test
- fasting blood glucose is taken - 75g glucose load is taken
- after 2 hours a second blood glucose reading is then taken
principle of managing T1DM
patients always require insulin to control the blood sugar levels.
this is because there is an absolute deficiency of insulin with no pancreatic tissue left to stimulate with drugs
different types of insulin are available according to their duration of action
principle of managing T2DM
first-line: metformin
second-line: sulfonylureas, gliptins and pioglitazone.
if oral medication is not controlling the blood glucose to a sufficient degree then insulin is used