Diabetes Ireland is currently targeting GP’s, Schools, Parent Groups, Crèches and Pharmacies to increase awareness of the differences between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and the urgency in confirming Type 1 diabetes and treating it early. In 2014, 1 in 6 children in Ireland admitted to hospital had DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis). DKA is completely avoidable with early diagnosis.
The Department of Paediatrics in Birmingham last week released the results of a study that align with anecdotal information in Ireland that 1 in 3 children attending their GP with onset Type 1 diabetes are not being referred to hospital promptly resulting in 50% of children newly diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes having diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), potentially a life threatening condition.
The Birmingham research team surveyed 300 GP’s on how timely they had referred a young person they suspected of Type 1 diabetes to a specialist diabetes paediatric team. The research team also looked back over 9 years of case notes of children diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes from January 2005 to December 2015 to uncover the incidence of DKA.
Of the 111 (37%) GP’s who replied to the survey, 73 did a prompt referral (65.8%) leaving 38 (34.2%) children with a delayed referral. To understand the implications of a delay in referral, the old case notes provided valuable information.
The case note review showed 96 children were diagnosed with Type 1 and 35 of these (36.5%) had a delayed referral. The average delay of 2 days led to 19 children (54.3%) presenting with DKA.
EARLY RECOGNITION ESSENTIAL
Dr Declan Cody, Consultant Paediatric Endocrinologist, Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin commented “‘this study again demonstrates the importance of the awareness and early recognition of the symptoms of Type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents. Delay in diagnosis and lack of prompt referral can result in diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) which is a potential life-threatening complication of this condition”.
The most common reason for the delay was the GP attempting to confirm the diagnosis by undertaking further tests such as a fasting blood glucose test or oral glucose tolerance test. Dr Anna Clarke, Diabetes Ireland commented “This report mirrors what we are hearing from parents in Ireland. GP’s ask parents to bring their child back the next day or in a few days if they are not better for blood tests, whereas an immediate urine or finger prick glucose check is warranted”.
THE PREVALENCE OF TYPE 1 DIABETES IN IRELAND
People with Type 1 diabetes account for approximately 14,000 –16,000 of the total diabetes population in Ireland with an estimated 2,750 people under 16 years of age, living with Type 1 diabetes (based on the Irish Paediatric Diabetes Audit 2012). Type 1 affects 1 in 500 children with quick onset, occurring over days or weeks.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) issued guidelines in 2004 “children and young adults with suspected Type 1 diabetes should be offered immediate (same day) referral to a multi-disciplinary paediatric diabetes care team that has the competencies needed to confirm diagnosis and to provide immediate care”
Diabetes Ireland is currently targeting GP’s, Schools, Parent Groups, Crèches and Pharmacies to increase awareness of the differences between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and the urgency in confirming Type 1 diabetes and treating it early. In 2014, 1 in 6 children in Ireland admitted to hospital had DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis). DKA is completely avoidable with early diagnosis.
The Department of Paediatrics in Birmingham last week released the results of a study that align with anecdotal information in Ireland that 1 in 3 children attending their GP with onset Type 1 diabetes are not being referred to hospital promptly resulting in 50% of children newly diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes having diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), potentially a life threatening condition.
The Birmingham research team surveyed 300 GP’s on how timely they had referred a young person they suspected of Type 1 diabetes to a specialist diabetes paediatric team. The research team also looked back over 9 years of case notes of children diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes from January 2005 to December 2015 to uncover the incidence of DKA.
Of the 111 (37%) GP’s who replied to the survey, 73 did a prompt referral (65.8%) leaving 38 (34.2%) children with a delayed referral. To understand the implications of a delay in referral, the old case notes provided valuable information.
The case note review showed 96 children were diagnosed with Type 1 and 35 of these (36.5%) had a delayed referral. The average delay of 2 days led to 19 children (54.3%) presenting with DKA.
EARLY RECOGNITION VITAL
Dr Declan Cody, Consultant Paediatric Endocrinologist, Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin commented “‘this study again demonstrates the importance of the awareness and early recognition of the symptoms of Type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents. Delay in diagnosis and lack of prompt referral can result in diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) which is a potential life-threatening complication of this condition”.
The most common reason for the delay was the GP attempting to confirm the diagnosis by undertaking further tests such as a fasting blood glucose test or oral glucose tolerance test. Dr Anna Clarke, Diabetes Ireland commented “This report mirrors what we are hearing from parents in Ireland. GP’s ask parents to bring their child back the next day or in a few days if they are not better for blood tests, whereas an immediate urine or finger prick glucose check is warranted”.
THE PREVALENCE OF TYPE 1 DIABETES IN IRELAND
People with Type 1 diabetes account for approximately 14,000 –16,000 of the total diabetes population in Ireland with an estimated 2,750 people under 16 years of age, living with Type 1 diabetes (based on the Irish Paediatric Diabetes Audit 2012). Type 1 affects 1 in 500 children with quick onset, occurring over days or weeks.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) issued guidelines in 2004 “children and young adults with suspected Type 1 diabetes should be offered immediate (same day) referral to a multi-disciplinary paediatric diabetes care team that has the competencies needed to confirm diagnosis and to provide immediate care”
