Derivation and Validation of a Risk-Prediction Tool for Hypoglycemia in Hospitalized Adults With Diabetes: The Hypoglycemia During Hospitalization (HyDHo) Score.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to develop the Hypoglycemia During Hospitalization (HyDHo) scoring system, to predict the risk for hypoglycemia during hospitalization in patients with diabetes at the time of admission to a general medical unit. METHODS: We randomly selected 300 patients with diabetes who had been admitted to a medical inpatient unit at a teaching hospital. Hypoglycemia was defined as any point-of-care glucose test result ≤3.9 mmol/L. Demographic and clinical predictors of hypoglycemia were identified through review of the hospitalization record. Bivariate associations between each predictor variable and hypoglycemia were used to choose variables for a logistic regression model. Model coefficients were converted into an integer points score. The selected model was applied to a validation dataset from 300 similar randomly selected patients admitted to a different teaching hospital. RESULTS: In the derivation cohort, 72 (25%) patients experienced hypoglycemia during their hospitalizations. The final selected model included 5 variables: age, emergency department visit 6 months prior, insulin use, use of oral agents that do not induce hypoglycemia, and severe chronic kidney disease. With a score of ≥9, sensitivity was 86% and specificity was 32%. The model had adequate discrimination and good calibration in the validation cohort. CONCLUSIONS: A parsimonious risk prediction model that uses 5 key clinical variables predicts hypoglycemia during hospitalization at the time of admission. More than one-quarter of patients at low risk for hypoglycemia had scores below the threshold. They could be identified at the time of admission by applying the HyDHo scoring system and may need less intensive glucose monitoring while in hospital.

Tool for Rapid & Easy Identification of High Risk Diabetic Foot: Validation & Clinical Pilot of the Simplified 60 Second Diabetic Foot Screening Tool.

BACKGROUND: Most diabetic foot amputations are caused by ulcers on the skin of the foot i.e. diabetic foot ulcers. Early identification of patients at high risk for diabetic foot ulcers is crucial. The 'Simplified 60-Second Diabetic Foot Screening Tool' has been designed to rapidly detect high risk diabetic feet, allowing for timely identification and referral of patients needing treatment. This study aimed to determine the clinical performance and inter-rater reliability of 'Simplified 60 Second Diabetic Foot Screening Tool' in order to evaluate its applicability for routine screening. METHODS AND FINDINGS: The tool was independently tested by n=12 assessors with n=18 Guyanese patients with diabetes. Inter-rater reliability was assessed by calculating Cronbach's alpha for each of the assessment items. A minimum value of 0.60 was considered acceptable. Reliability scores of the screening tool assessment items were: 'monofilament test' 0.98; 'active ulcer' 0.97; 'previous amputation' 0.97; 'previous ulcer' 0.97; 'fixed ankle' 0.91; 'deformity' 0.87; 'callus' 0.87; 'absent pulses' 0.87; 'fixed toe' 0.80; 'blisters' 0.77; 'ingrown nail' 0.72; and 'fissures' 0.55. The item 'stiffness in the toe or ankle' was removed as it was observed in only 1.3% of patients. The item 'fissures' was also removed due to low inter-rater reliability. Clinical performance was assessed via a pilot study utilizing the screening tool on n=1,266 patients in an acute care setting in Georgetown, Guyana. In total, 48% of patients either had existing diabetic foot ulcers or were found to be at high risk for developing ulcers. CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians in low and middle income countries such as Guyana can use the Simplified 60-Second Diabetic Screening Tool to facilitate early detection and appropriate treatment of diabetic foot ulcers. Implementation of this screening tool has the potential to decrease diabetes related disability and mortality.

Australian women's experiences of living with gestational diabetes.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe Australian women's reflections on the experience of having a pregnancy affected by GDM. METHODS: Participants were women aged ≥18 years, diagnosed with GDM ≤3 years previously and registered with the National Diabetes Services Scheme. Data was collected from a cross-sectional written postal survey which included the opportunity for women to document their experiences of living with GDM. Thematic framework analysis was undertaken to determine underlying themes. RESULTS: Of 4098 invited eligible women, 1372 consented to participate. Of these, 393 provided feedback on their experiences of living with GDM. Eight key themes emerged from the data (1) shock, fear and anxiety (8.9%), (2) uncertainty and scepticism (9.4%), (3) an opportunity to improve one's health (9.6%), (4) adapting to life with GDM (11.6%), (5) the need for support (17.2%), (6) better awareness (3.5%), (7) abandoned (14.9%), (8) staying healthy and preventing diabetes (13.7%). Women taking insulin were more likely to experience shock, fear or anxiety (p=0.001) and there was a trend towards women who spoke another language also being more likely to report this experience (p=0.061). Those diagnosed with GDM in a previous pregnancy (p=0.034) and younger women (p=0.054) were less likely to view the diagnosis as an opportunity to improve their health. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides an insight into the experience of the pregnant woman diagnosed with GDM. It emphasises the importance of health professional support and provides insight into the challenges and opportunities for future diabetes risk reduction.

Services doing the best they can: service experiences of young adults with type 1 diabetes mellitus in rural Australia.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To describe the healthcare experiences of young adults with type 1 diabetes who access diabetes services in rural areas of New South Wales, Australia. BACKGROUND: The incidence of type 1 diabetes in childhood and adolescence is increasing worldwide; internationally, difficulties are encountered in supporting young people during their transition from children to adulthood. Consumers' experiences and views will be essential to inform service redesign. DESIGN: This was a qualitative exploratory study. METHODS: Semistructured telephone interviews were conducted with 26 people aged 18-28 years living rurally, recruited through staff in four regional healthcare centres in 2008. RESULTS: Two key themes were evident: lack of access (comprised of transfer to adult services, access to health professionals and access to up-to-date information) and age-appropriate provision. The impact of place of residence and personal motivation crossed all themes. Participants contrasted unfavourably the seamless care and support received from paediatric outreach services with the shortages in specialist and general practice-based care and information and practical problems of service fragmentation and lack of coordination experienced as adults. They identified a range of issues including need for ongoing education, age-appropriate services and support networks related to developing their ability to self-manage. They valued personal service; online and electronic support was seldom volunteered as an alternative. CONCLUSION: This was a first view of rural young people's experiences with adult diabetes services. Reported experiences were in line with previous reports from other settings in that they did not perceive services in this rural area of Australia as meeting their needs; suggestions for service redesign differed. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: New models of age-appropriate service provision are required, to meet their needs for personal as well as other forms of support, whilst acknowledging the very real resource limitations of these locations.

Lost in transition? Access to and uptake of adult health services and outcomes for young people with type 1 diabetes in regional New South Wales.

OBJECTIVE: To document diabetes health services use and indices of glycaemic management of young people with type 1 diabetes from the time of their first contact with adult services, for those living in regional areas compared with those using city and state capital services, and compared with clinical guideline targets. DESIGN, SETTING AND SUBJECTS: Case note audit of 239 young adults aged 18-28 years with type 1 diabetes accessing five adult diabetes services before 30 June 2008 in three geographical regions of New South Wales: the capital (86), a city (79) and a regional area (74). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Planned (routine monitoring) and unplanned (hospital admissions and emergency department attendance for hypoglycaemia or hyperglycaemia) service contacts; recorded measures of glycated haemoglobin (HbA(1c)), body mass index (BMI), and blood pressure (BP). RESULTS: Routine preventive service uptake during the first year of contact with adult services was significantly higher in the capital and city. Fewer regional area patients had records of complications assessment and measurements of HbA(1c), BMI and BP across all audited years of contact (HbA(1c): 73% v 94% city, 97% capital; P < 0.001). Across all years, regional area patients had the highest proportion of HbA(1c) values > 8.0% (79% v 62% city, 56% capital) and lowest proportion < 7% (4% v 7%, 22%) (both P < 0.001). Fewer young people made unplanned use of acute services for diabetes crisis management in the capital (24% v 49% city, 50% regional area; P < 0.001). In the regional area, routine review did not occur reliably even annually, with marked attrition of patients from adult services after the first year of contact. CONCLUSION: Inadequate routine specialist care, poor diabetes self-management and frequent use of acute services for crisis management, particularly in regional areas, suggest service redesign is needed to encourage young people's engagement.

Postnatal testing for diabetes in Australian women following gestational diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND: Postnatal blood glucose testing is recommended for reclassification of glucose tolerance following a pregnancy affected by gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM); however, there are limited data on the postnatal follow-up sought by Australian women. AIMS: To describe postnatal diabetes testing patterns in Australian women following a pregnancy affected by GDM and identify factors associated with return for follow-up testing in accordance with the Australasian Diabetes in Pregnancy Society (ADIPS) guidelines. METHODS: A cross-sectional self-administered survey of 1372 women diagnosed with GDM between 2003 and 2005, sampled from the National Diabetes Services Scheme database. RESULTS: Postnatal diabetes testing was reported by 73.2% of survey respondents with 27.4% returning for an oral glucose test tolerance at six to eight weeks post-GDM pregnancy. Using logistic regression analysis, factors associated with appropriate postnatal testing were receiving individualised risk reduction advice (odds ratio (OR) 1.41 (1.08,1.84)) or written information (OR 1.35 (1.03,1.76)) and in two-way interactions, being under the care of an endocrinologist and not tertiary educated (OR 2.09 (1.49,2.93)) as well as seeing an obstetrician and diabetes educator during pregnancy (OR 1.72 (1.19,2.48)). Every five years increase in age reduced the likelihood of a woman returning for testing by 17%. CONCLUSIONS: Specialist diabetes care in non-tertiary educated women, or a team approach to management with diabetes education and obstetric care may act to reinforce the need for postnatal diabetes testing in accordance with the ADIPS guidelines. Individualised follow up from a health professional and provision of written information following a GDM pregnancy may also encourage return for postnatal testing in this high-risk group.

Using pilot studies to inform health services.

A pilot study was conducted at the John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle, Australia in 1998-99 to inform a randomised controlled trial (RCT) for a cardiac rehabilitation intervention for patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). Although the RCT did not proceed, the pilot study results raised a number of issues. In this paper, the pilot is used to demonstrate how estimates of population benefit need to take into account patient eligibility, consent and adherence, and also how non-clinical data can inform the planning and development of health service interventions.