His weight was 117kg and he had a body AZD4547 concentration mass index (BMI) of 39kg/m2. He was taking 126 units of insulin per day with metformin. Previous attempts at weight loss had been unsuccessful. Over a period of six months, he lost 20kg in weight (BMI 30kg/m2). He reported nausea and vomiting, attributed to the exenatide, but because he was pleased with the weight loss he wanted to continue on exenatide.
He had two episodes of witnessed generalised tonic–clonic seizures. He was teetotal and was not taking diuretics. He was found to be hypomagnesaemic with normal serum calcium and normal 24-hour urinary magnesium excretion, excluding renal magnesium loss. It was concluded that his seizures were caused by nutritional hypomagnesaemia due to recurrent vomiting as a consequence of exenatide treatment. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons. “
“New National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance is likely to increase the use of insulin pump therapy, and the challenge for diabetes teams is to maintain the initial improvement in HbA1c without extra resources. A telehealth system has been developed where both health professionals and patients can view downloaded pump and blood glucose data. A pilot study in patients with HbA1c >8%, using pump therapy for more than a year, demonstrated a mean reduction from 9.3% to 8.2% at 12 months after using the telehealth system. Patient
satisfaction with the system reported more understanding, insight and control by viewing the data, as well as easy access 3-mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase to the health professional. This pilot study has demonstrated that, for some people, using a telehealth approach has resulted in improved diabetes control. Copyright click here © 2010 John Wiley & Sons. “
“This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Type 1 diabetes Type 2 diabetes References Further reading “
“Insulin is often used in the management of hyperglycaemia but prescribing and management errors are common. A UK audit revealed 3881 wrong dose incidents
and six deaths over six years (National Patient Safety Agency 2010, NPSA). The NPSA and NHS Diabetes launched a tri-phase education initiative in June 2010, aimed at reducing error and including rapid response reports sent to all hospital and community trusts, written supporting information and recommendations, and access to an e-learning module and assessment. The aim of this project was to improve all health care professionals’ (HCPs’) knowledge in the safe use of insulin through e-learning. A safer use of insulin e-learning module commissioned by NHS Diabetes and the NPSA was developed by a hospital trust and piloted by multidisciplinary HCPs from UK hospital and community settings. Developers used established web-based contacts to promote access. Reminders were sent to those not completing within three months. The number, type, workplace location and percentage of those accessing and completing the module were audited weekly to assess uptake.