
September 11, 2003
Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from Louisville, Kentucky, USA:
My 12 year old son was in an accident, had multiple injuries, and his blood glucose level was 229 mg/dl [12.7 mmol/L] along with a high level of glucose in his urine. About 36 hours later, I took him to our general practitioner for a re-check, and it was still 173 mg/dl [9.6 mmol/L], even though he had eaten very little in that time. He shows no signs of internal injuries at this time or upon examination, and he has not manifested any symptoms of diabetes, but there is a family history of type 2 diabetes on both sides. Could his glucose be high due to the trauma he has experienced?
Answer:
I really can’t comment on stress vs real diabetes since I didn’t see him and would recommend careful follow-up to resolution. I would start with two fasting glucoses which, if greater than 126 mg/dl [7 mmol/L], would be diagnostic of diabetes.
LD