
June 24, 2000
Blood Tests and Insulin Injections, Hyperglycemia and DKA
Question from Oregon, USA:
Does a person with Type 1 diabetes always have sugar in their urine? My daughter, who has diabetes, had a routine urine test done and there was sugar but no ketones in the urine. Her last blood sugar was 196 about 1 hour prior to the urine test. She then had her shot and her dinner.
Answer:
Glucose will appear in the urine of a person with diabetes if the blood glucose rises above the renal threshold for glucose. That means when the blood glucose rises above a certain level, then glucose will spill out in the urine. The renal threshold is usually about 8 to 12 mmol/L (approximately 150 to 200 mg/dl). This means that glucose will appear in the urine when blood glucose rises, and so is not found in the urine all the time.
JS