September 14, 2007
Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA:
My 18-month-old daughter has not grown in the last six months so her pediatrician ordered blood tests. Her blood sugar level was 151 mg/dl [8.4 mmol/L]. This was checked again a week later and was about the same. Her doctor was baffled because the number was high but not high enough for diabetes. She will see an endocrinologist in two months. Any thoughts on what could be wrong? Should I be doing something else to help her?
Answer:
This is definitely abnormal. I would suggest a pediatric diabetes consultation and more home blood glucose testing to see what her day-to-day values are. We would usually want about three days worth of such a blood glucose profile: pre-breakfast and then one hour after breakfast, pre-lunch and then one hour after lunch and pre-dinner and one hour after dinner. Islet cell, GAD-65 and insulin antibody testing would also help (but only if positive) in establishing a diagnosis. It is unlikely this is related to poor growth, however.
SB
