My seven year old daughter was diagnosed with type�1 diabetes last month. What tests do you recommend? Is it necessary to check for microalbuminuria at this stage?

Assuming that the diagnosis has already been made on sound clinical and laboratory grounds, I assume you are talking about screening tests. At this stage your daughter doesn’t require any. Specifically, it is unnecessary to check for microalbuminuria because this will almost certainly be present. This is a common finding in the early days of diabetes and is probably related to the kidney being driven to work harder by the high sugar levels. It will disappear. My recommendation would be that screening (eyes, kidneys) should begin in four years.

KJR

[Editor’s comment: Your daughter should have a hemoglobin A1c drawn every three months.

SS]