The impact of daily mean air temperature on the proportion of time in hypoglycemia in 2,582 children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes - Is this association clinically relevant?

OBJECTIVES: To study the potential association between increases in daily mean air temperature and time below range (TBR <54 mg/dl) and time above range (TAR >250 mg/dl) in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Individuals with type 1 diabetes <21 years with information on daily glucose profiles from the diabetes prospective follow-up study (DPV) were included (n = 2582). Further inclusion criteria were age at least 6 months at diabetes onset, diabetes duration for at least one year and treatment years 2020-2021. Mean daily air temperature and other meteorological parameters from 78 measurement stations in Germany were linked to the individual glucose sensor profile via the five-digit postcode areas of residency. We used multivariable repeated measures fractional logistic regression models with a compound symmetry covariance structure to study the association between a 1 °C increase in daily mean temperature and time in specific glucose ranges. RESULTS: A 1 °C increase in daily mean temperature was associated with an acute (Odds Ratio (OR) 1.009 (95%-CI 1.007, 1.011)) and up to 7 days delayed (OR 1.003 (1.001, 1.005)) increase in TBR <54 mg/dl. Moreover, an acute decrease in TAR >250 mg/dl (OR 0.997 (0.996, 0.997)) was found. CONCLUSIONS: Results of the DPV registry showed small, but statistically significant changes in TBR and TAR in association with a short-term temperature increase. Higher blood flow and faster insulin absorption might be one possible mechanism. In times of increasing temperature fluctuations meteorological impacts on time in range could become even more relevant.

Determinants of glycaemic outcome in the current practice of care for young people up to 21 years old with type 1 diabetes under real-life conditions.

AIM: To determine factors influencing the success of treatment for type 1 diabetes, defined as HbA1c < 58 mmol/mol (<7.5%), in a large paediatric cohort under real-life conditions. METHODS: This is a monocentric observational study analysing the determinants of glycaemic outcome (sex, age, comorbidities, sociodemographic factors, diabetes technology) in an entire cohort of people with diabetes aged up to 21 years. Glycaemic outcome was defined as an individual's median HbA1c and the prevalence of acute complications over this period. RESULTS: Of 700 young people with type 1 diabetes [age 13.6 years (range: 1.4-20.9 years); diabetes duration 5.8 years (range: 0.1-18.3 years)], 63% were using an insulin pump and 32% any type of continuous glucose monitoring. Mean HbA1c was 61 mmol/mol [95% confidence interval (CI) 60-62; 7.7%, 95% CI 7.5-7.8]. Some 63% of children aged < 12 years reached HbA1c (58 mmol/mol (<7.5%) compared with 43% of older participants. The prevalence of severe hypoglycaemia was 2.41 events and that of diabetic ketoacidosis 1.4 events per 100 person-years. Neither type of insulin therapy nor use of continuous glucose monitoring, sex or comorbidity with coeliac disease or thyroiditis was significantly associated with glycaemic outcome. However, age, diabetes duration, having a father not born in Germany, psychiatric comorbidities and family structure were associated with HbA1c . CONCLUSIONS: Current technologies and a multidisciplinary team approach allow high numbers of children and adolescents to realize tight glycaemic control with a low prevalence of acute complications. However, age-related challenges, sociodemographic factors and psychological comorbidities are barriers to achieving best possible glycaemic outcome.

Metabolic control of type 1 diabetes in youth with autism spectrum disorder: A multicenter Diabetes-Patienten-Verlaufsdokumentation analysis based on 61 749 patients up to 20 years of age.

BACKGROUND: A paucity of reports in the literature exists concerning the co-existence between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and type 1 diabetes (T1D). OBJECTIVE: To compare clinical characteristics, diabetes management and metabolic control in youth with T1D and ASD (T1D-ASD) with youth without ASD (T1D-non ASD). METHODS: Using the German/Austrian diabetes patient follow-up registry, this study analyzed aggregated data from the last available year of observation for each patient with T1D, ages 1-20 with consistent data on insulin regimen and glycated hemoglobin (A1C), between January, 2005 and March, 2017. RESULTS: From 61 749 patients, 150 (0.24%) were identified as T1D-ASD. Non-adjusted comparisons showed similar results for mean age at onset and duration of diabetes, but not for gender (male: T1D-ASD: 85.3%; T1D-non ASD: 52.8%; P < .001). Unadjusted comparisons showed no difference for severe hypoglycemia, diabetic ketoacidosis, insulin doses, insulin pump therapy, and body mass index. A statistical difference was observed for A1C (P-value .01) and in the number of blood glucose (SMBG) tests/day (median [interquartile range]: T1D-ASD 6.0 [4.4-7.0]; T1D-non ASD 5.0 [4.4-7.0]; P-value < .001). After adjusting for age, gender, duration of diabetes, and year of observation, only SMBG remained significant (P-value .003). T1D-ASD used psycho-stimulants (15.3% vs 2.2%; P-value < .001), antipsychotics (10.7% vs 0.6%; P-value < .001), and antidepressive medications (3.6% vs 0.7%; P-value < .001) more frequently. CONCLUSION: Metabolic control was similar in the T1D-ASD group compared to T1D-non ASD despite their comorbidity. Awareness of ASD remains important in T1D treatment, as both conditions require long-term multi-disciplinary medical follow-up for optimal outcomes.

Both the frequency of HbA1c testing and the frequency of self-monitoring of blood glucose predict metabolic control: A multicentre analysis of 15 199 adult type 1 diabetes patients from Germany and Austria.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to examine the association between metabolic control and frequency of haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c ) measurements and of self-monitoring of blood glucose, as well as the interaction of both. METHODS: Data of 15 199 adult type 1 diabetes patients registered in a standardized electronic health record (DPV) were included. To model the association between metabolic control and frequency of HbA1c testing or of self-monitoring of blood glucose, multiple hierarchic regression models with adjustment for confounders were fitted. Tukey-Kramer test was used to adjust P values for multiple comparisons. Vuong test was used to compare non-nested models. RESULTS: The baseline variables of the study population were median age 19.9 [Q1; Q3: 18.4; 32.2] years and diabetes duration 10.4 [6.8; 15.7] years. Haemoglobin A1c was 60.4 [51.5; 72.5] mmol/mol. Frequency of HbA1c testing was 8.0 [5.0; 9.0] within 2 years, and daily self-monitoring of blood glucose frequency was 5.0 [4.0; 6.0]. After adjustment, a U-shaped association between metabolic control and frequency of HbA1c testing was observed with lowest HbA1c levels in the 3-monthly HbA1c testing group. There was an inverse relationship between self-monitoring of blood glucose and HbA1c with lower HbA1c associated with highest frequency of testing (>6 daily measurements). Quarterly HbA1c testing and frequent self-monitoring of blood glucose were associated with best metabolic control. The adjusted Vuong Z statistic suggests that metabolic control might be better explained by HbA1c testing compared to self-monitoring of blood glucose (P < .0001). CONCLUSION: This research reveals the importance of quarterly clinical HbA1c monitoring together with frequent self-monitoring of blood glucose in diabetes management to reach and maintain target HbA1c .

[Individualization of diabetes treatment by automated insulin delivery]. / Individualisierung der Diabetestherapie durch Automatisierung der Insulingabe.

Insulin pumps and glucose sensors have been shown to be effective in improving diabetes treatment and reducing acute complications according to data from registries. Therefore, in pediatric diabetology the use of at least one technical device is standard. Both devices can also be combined to form automated insulin delivery (AID) systems.Many AID systems have been tested in clinical trials and have proven to be safe and effective. The supply situation in Germany currently only allows one system to be prescribed for people insured by the statutory health insurances. Currently, children younger than 7 years of age cannot be treated with this system. The reasons for this are legal hurdles and lack of certification by the manufacturers. The CE certification can also lead to problems with insulin prescriptions. Open-source systems are non-regulated variants to circumvent existing regulatory conditions. There are risks here for both users and prescribers.For permanent use a thorough knowledge of the features of each AID system is necessary for both the user and the practitioner. Complete automation does not yet work. For the evaluation of the AID treatment, the metric data of the glucose sensors, the time in range and the glucose management index are the recognized and suitable parameters, because they allow a consultation based on real data from the daily life of people with diabetes.As all glucose sensors are read out via cloud-based software or the data are obtained directly and automatically from a telephone-linked receiver device, this provides the ideal technical basis for telemedical care, which still needs to be configured.

What does the American Board of Surgery In-Training/Surgical Basic Science Examination tell us about graduate surgical education?

BACKGROUND: This research sought to identify the strengths and weakness in residents' basic science knowledge and, second, to determine whether they progressively improve in their abilities to recall basic science information and clinical management facts, to analyze cause-effect relationships, and to solve clinical problems. METHODS AND RESULTS: Basic science knowledge was assessed by means of the results of the January 1990 American Board of Surgery's In-Training/Surgical Basic Science Exam (IT/SBSE). Postgraduate year (PGY) 1 residents' scores were compared with those of PGY5 residents. Content related to a question was considered "known" if 67% or more of the residents in each of the two groups answered it correctly. Findings showed 44% of the content tested by the basic science questions were unknown by new and graduating residents. The second research question required the 250 IT/SBSE questions to be classified into one of three levels of thinking abilities: recall, analysis, and inferential thinking. Profile analysis (split-plot analysis of variance) for each pair of resident levels indicated significant (P < 0.001) differences in performance on questions requiring factual recall, analysis, and inference between all levels except for PGY3s and PGY4s. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this research enable program directors to evaluate strengths and weaknesses in residency training curricula and the cognitive development of residents.

The initial examination for a Certificate of Added Qualifications in Surgery of the Hand.

A total of 510 candidates took the 1989 Examination for Added Qualifications in Surgery of the Hand, including 412 diplomates of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and ninety-eight diplomates of the American Board of Surgery. Most candidates reported that they had intensive practices in hand surgery and large annual case-loads, and most had taken a hand fellowship. However, there were significant differences between diplomates of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and diplomates of the American Board of Surgery regarding these variables. The psychometric characteristics of the examination were very good. The average difficulty value was 77.6 per cent correct. The average item-discrimination value was high, and the total test reliability coefficient was 0.89. In general, the candidates' performance was very good, although there was a wide range in scores. A passing score of 66.3 per cent correct was selected, resulting in an over-all failure rate of 7.6 per cent, with 471 candidates passing and thirty-nine failing the examination. There were significant relationships between performance on the examination and several background variables, such as percentage of practice in hand surgery, having taken a hand fellowship, and size of the annual case-load.

Work loads and practice patterns of general surgeons in the United States, 1995-1997: a report from the American Board of Surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the work loads and practice patterns of general surgeons in the United States over a 3-year period (1995 to 1997). METHODS: The surgical operative logs of 2434 "generalist" general surgeons recertifying in surgery form the basis of this report. Selected demographics of the group are as follows: location: 50% Northeast and Southeast, 21 % Midwest, 29% West and Southwest; practice type: 45% solo, 40% group, 9% academics; size of practice community: 46% highly urban, 19% rural. Parameters evaluated were the average number of procedures and their distribution by category related to geographic area, practice type, community size, and other parameters. Statistical analysis was accomplished using analysis of variance. RESULTS: No significant year-to-year differences were observed between cohorts. The average numbers of procedures per surgeon per year was 398, distributed as follows: abdomen 102, alimentary tract 63, breast 54, endoscopic 51, vascular 39, trauma 6, endocrine 4, and head and neck, 3. Eleven percent of the 398 procedures were performed laparoscopically. Major index cases were largely concentrated with small groups of surgeons representing 5% to 10% of the total. Significant differences were as follows: surgeons in the Northeast and West performed far fewer procedures than those elsewhere. Urban surgeons performed a few more tertiary-type procedures than did rural ones; however, rural surgeons performed many more total procedures, especially in endoscopy, laparoscopy, gynecology, genitourinary, and orthopedics. Academic surgeons performed substantially fewer total procedures as a group than did nonacademic ones and in all categories except liver, transplant, and pancreas. Male surgeons performed more procedures than did female surgeons, except those involving the breast. More procedures were done by surgeons in group practice than by those in solo practice. U.S. medical graduates and international medical graduates had similar work loads but with a different distribution. CONCLUSIONS: This unique database will be useful in tracking trends over time. More importantly, it demonstrates that general surgery practice in the United States is extremely heterogeneous, a fact that must be acknowledged in any future workforce deliberations.