diabetes Flashcards
what is diabetes?
what are the 2 common types and define each one?
insulin resistance / insulin deficiency
type 1 [body not producing enough insulin]
type 2 [body resisting insulin and not responding to its action]
give examples of other types of diabetes
gestational [pregnancy], secondary diabetes [caused by secondary disease] such as pancreatic damage, hepatic cirrhosis and endocrine disease
what is diabetes insipidus?
what is a typical sign of diabetes insipidus?
diabetes caused by tumour or damage to hypothalamus/pituitary gland. Nothing to do with blood sugar more to do with water/imbalance of fluid. makes you pee out lots of urine. sign is excessive thirst
what are the 2 types of diabetes insipidus? which out of the 2 are the most common forms of diabetes insipidus?
- cranial pituitary diabetes insipidus - most common
2. nephrogenic and partial pituitary diabetes insipidus.
describe what cranial pituitary and nephrogenic partial pituitary diabetes insipidus is?
what is the treatment for each?
- cranial: body does not produce enough antidiuretic hormones [vasopressin/desmopressin]. caused by damage to hypothalamus or pituitary gland. treated by vasopressin or desmopressin which stop diuresis/urination. desmopressin more potent than vasopressin and has no vasoconstrictor effects. admin routes: oral, intranasal, injection
- nephrogenic: is enough antidiuretic hormones but kidneys not responding to it. nephro damage. treatment is carbamazepine or thiazide diuretics
give a side effect of desmopressin
extreme dilution of water leading to hyponatraemia
when should diabetic drivers inform the DVLA? 3
if they are taking insulin
if they have diabetic complications
if they are taking drugs with increased risk of hypoglycaemia [insulin, sulphonylurea, glinides]
what does the dvla advice diabetic drivers to carry with them whilst driving?
glucose meter, testing strips, snacks, carbohydrate snacks
- what should the blood glucose level be for a diabetic driver whilst driving?
- what blood glucose level is dangerous to be driving with and you cannot drive with it and why?
- above 5mmol/L
2. 4mmol/L or under. because could lead to unconsciousness
what is the DVLA advice for pt who are already driving when their blood glucose level reaches 4mmol/L or under?
stop the car in a safe space, eat/drink something to get blood glucose levels back up and wait at least 45 mins after blood glucose levels resume to normal before continuing journey
what does it mean when hypoglycaemic awareness is lost? can you drive if this happens? which drugs can mask the signs of hypoglycaemia?
it means pt does not recognise the signs of hypoglycaemia. you must not drive if this happens. ace inhibitors
what is the concern with alcohol for diabetics?
can mask the signs of hypoglycaemia
what is the oral glucose tolerance test and how do you use it? what kind of diabetes can it help to diagnose?
a test to diagnose if you have impaired glucose tolerance
can diagnose gestational diabetes
involves measuring blood glucose conc after fasting for 8 hours and then again 2 hours after drinking anhydrous glucose drink eg polycal
what kind of measurement can be performed at any time of day and does not require special preparations eg fasting?
hba1c tests
what is hba1c?
how many months can it provide an average plasma glucose conc?
a haemoglobin that is present when red blood cells come into contact with glucose.
over 2-3 months
which type of diabetes mellitus can hba1c measurements be used to monitor glycaemic control in?
which type of diabetes mellitus can hba1c be used to diagnose?
- both type 1 and type 2
2. just type 2
when and in which patients can hba1c NOT be used to diagnose diabetes?
in type 1 diabetes, in children, in pregnancy, in women up to 2 months post partum
in which type of patients must hba1c be NEVER used in?
people with symptoms of diabetes occuring less than 2 months, ppl acutely ill or high diabetes risk, ppl on drugs that can cause hyperglycaemia, people with pancreatic damage, CKD and HIV
what do lower HBA1C values indicate? is it good or bad
lower risk of long term vascular complications. the lower the value the better.
- how often do you need to monitor type 1 patients using hba1c?
- how often do you need to monitor type 2 patients using hba1c?
- every 3-6 months but more if rapid changes in glucose levels
- every 3-6 months until medication and hba1c levels are stable and then every 6 months
what is the biological cause of type 1 diabetes?
little to no insulin produced due to destruction of beta cells in the pancreatic islets of langerhan
what are the 5 different diabetic complications?
- retinopathy
- nephropathy
- neuropathy
- premature CVD
- peripheral arterial disease
what blood glucose measurement suggests hyperglycaemia?
over 11mmol/L
what are the signs and symptoms of type 1 diabetes [there are 8]
- increased thirst
- increased urination
- unintentional weight loss
- hyperglycaemia
- fatigue and weakness
- mood changes
- extreme hunger
- blurred vision
what are the 5 aims of treatment for type 1 diabetes?
- target gylcaemic control should be individualised for each pt
- avoid disability by early detection of diabetic complications
- insulin regimens
- avoid hypoglycaemia
- minimise long term macro/micro vascular complications
- how many times should adults with type 1 diabetes measure their blood glucose conc and when?
- when would you need to increase the amounts of times a patient measures their blood glucose?
- at least 4 times daily
before each meal and before bed - increase when pt doing activities that may affect glucose conc eg exercise
what are the ideal hba1c targets for a type 1 diabetic patient when:
- in general?
- upon waking up?
- before meals?
- after meals?
- when driving?
- random measurement?
- in general type 1 diabetics target should be <48mmol/L
- 5-7mmol/L
- 4-7mmol/L
- 5-9mmol/L
- 5mmol/L
- under 11mmol/L
what is the main treatment for type 1 diabetes
insulin
what drug can you add to insulin for further glycaemic control and for which patients?
metformin as it does not cause weight gain. for pt with BMI >25 [or >23 for ethnics]
when would you need to adjust the doses of insulin treatment?
according to exercise, dietary intake etc. if pt eating more food requires more insulin. if pt exercising, requires less insulin
what are the 2 types of natural insulin secretion profile and define each one?
basal: continuous release of insulin from liver. slow and steady
bolus: insulin released from liver during mealtime. released in response to glucose absorbed from foods
what are the 3 types of insulin sources available in the uk and which is the most commonly used?
- human - lab made to be identical to human insulin. genetically designed
- human analogue - most common. designed to be like human insulin but modified to be faster and longer duration
- animal - least used. animals including bovine and porcine
what is insulin inactivated by
GI enzymes
where should insulin be injected? what kind of injection [IV, SC, IM]?
inject in area with most sc fat like abdomen, outer thigh etc
SC injection
what could happen if a pt continues to inject insulin into the same site on their body and what is the risk of this? what is the associated advice?
could lead to lipohypertrophy. can cause bad absorption of insulin leads to poor glycaemic control. rotate sites and check for signs of infection
what are the 3 different types of insulin preparations?
- short acting [soluble and rapid]
- intermediate acting
- long acting
give 3 examples of rapid acting insulins including brand names
LAG
insulin lispro [humalog]
insulin aspart [fiasp and novorapid]
insulin glulisine [apidra, solostar]
what is the onset of action of RAPID acting insulin and what is the duration of action?
onset within 15 mins. duration 2 - 5 hours
when is RAPID acting insulins injected? what happens if you fail to inject after this time
injected immediately before meals
hypoglycaemia risk if injected during or after food
are short acting insulins basal or bolus?
bolus
when is SOLUBLE insulin injected? what is the onset of action and duration?
injected 15-30 mins BEFORE meals. onset of action 30-60 mins and lasts up to 9 hours
when is IV and IM soluble insulin given?
in emergencies
IV given in DKA emergencies and peri operatively because of fast onset and v short half life
give 4 examples of soluble insulin
actrapid
humulin S
hypurin bovine/porcine
insuman
give an example of an intermediate acting insulin [brand as well]
isophane insulin [humilin i]
is intermediate acting insulin basal or bolus
basal
what is the onset of action, maximal effect and duration of action of intermediate acting insulin?
onset - 1-2 hours
maximal - 3-12 hours
duration 11-24 hours
what is isophane insulin a mixture of?
insulin and protamine
what are pre mixed biphasic insulins and give 3 examples
intermediate insulins mixed with a short acting insulin [either rapid or soluble].
can be mixed by pt or pre mixed readily available
biphasic isophane insulin, biphasic isophane aspart, biphasic isophane lispro
when should biphasic isophane insulin be administered?
immediately before a meal
what types of insulin are these:
novomix 30
humalog mix 25 and 50
humulin M3
mix = biphasic
all biphasic insulins
are long acting insulins basal or bolus
basal
what is the duration of action of long acting insulins?
what is the onset of action of long acting insulins?
up to 36 hours
duration: 2-4hours
can long acting insulins be prescribed in type 2 diabetes?
yes. in type 2 diabetics if insulin is required
list 5 examples of long acting insulins and brand names
- determir [levemir]
- glargine [toujeo, lantus]
- degludec [tresiba]
- insulin zinc suspension [rarely used]
- protamine zinc insulin [rarely used]
how many times in a day is determir given? how many times in a day is glargine and degludec given?
determir - once or twice
glargine and deglude - once
what are the 3 types of insulin regimens for type 1 diabetes management?
- biphasic insulin regimen
- multiple daily basal bolus insulin regimen
- continuous sc insulin infusion pump
which insulin regimen is 1st line recommendation for type 1 diabetics? why is this the most popular regimen
multiple daily injection - basal bolus regimen
because it mimics the bodys natural insulin secretion process and offers patients flexibility to tailor insulin infusion with carbohydrate load of each meal
what is included in the multiple daily injection [basal bolus]
either a intermediate or long acting insulin
plus
multiple bolus injections of a short acting insulin taken before meals [normally rapid acting]
what is the mixed [biphasic] insulin regimen? how many injections given daily?
1,2, or 3 daily injections of biphasic. short acting insulin plus an intermediate acting
who is biphasic regimens suitable for?
people with fixed dietary regime as gives fixed amount of insulin not flexible
type 2 diabetics
is biphasic regimen suitable for newly diagnosed type 1 diabetics or the acutely ill diabetics?
no
what insulins are in:
humalog mix 25 and 50
novomix
rapid acting and intermediate
what insulins are inside
humalin M2, M3, M5
insuman comb 15, 20, 50
soluble acting and intermediate
what hba1c levels must a patient have in order to be put on the continous sc insulin infusion pump?
over 69mmol/L
what is the continuous subcutanous insulin infusion pump?
rapid acting OR soluble acting
delivered continuously by pump via cannula or subcutaneous needle
initiated by specialists