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My name is Christian and this is my journey with diabetes.
Sometimes children and their families haven’t been diagnosed with diabetes yet, either Type 1 or Type 2,
so a child may need hospitalization to get their diabetes diagnosed and their condition under control. Some children may have the condition, but have a severe complication or diabetic episode, that may require hospitalization.
The general pediatrics physician will consult with a pediatric endocrinologist if they suspect diabetes and will recommend a screening test. Screening tests include:
Random Blood Sugar Test
A blood sample will be taken at a random time to determine the blood sugar level. If it’s 200 mg/dL
or higher, diabetes may be present.
Glycated hemoglobin (A1C)
This blood test measuring the percentage of blood sugar attached to hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells, to indicate an average blood sugar level for the past two to three months.
An A1C level of 6.5 percent or higher on two separate tests indicates diabetes.
Fasting Blood Sugar Test
This blood test is taken after an overnight fast. If the results come back at 126 mg/dL or higher on two separate tests, your child will be diagnosed with diabetes.
Once diagnosed with diabetes another blood test will be run to check for autoantibodies, which are common in Type 1 diabetes. The presence of ketones, byproducts from the breakdown of fat, in a
child’s urine, suggests Type 1 diabetes.
If left untreated, a child could lose consciousness. In this instance an emergency injection of glucagon,
a hormone that stimulates the release of sugar into the blood, is used.
While hospitalized, blood glucose monitoring (SBGM), checks the patient’s blood glucose levels regularly, to help physicians, patients and their families make informed decisions regarding medications, insulin treatment, meal plans and exercise programs.
Children with Type 1 diabetes, will need insulin treatment. Some children with diabetes may even have to take a combination of two different types of insulin to control their blood sugar levels. Some oral medications also can be taken.
Education is a critical component of diabetes treatment and is crucial to achieve positive condition management outcomes in a pediatric patient. The general pediatrics care team’s goal is to control a patient's blood sugar levels during hospitalization so patients heal quicker with fewer complications, and to educate them and their families, about their diabetes for a successful transition from the general pediatrics unit to the Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic Outpatient Specialty Center. Children and their families will learn how to manage the condition through:
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