[Blood glucose and ketone monitoring in type 1 diabetic patients in the controlled environment of a summer camp]. / Glucemia y cetonemia en diabéticos tipo 1 en el ambiente controlado de una colonia de verano.

INTRODUCTION: Control of blood ketone levels and glycemia is advisable in certain situations in type 1 diabetic children and adolescents. The aims of this study were to assess the relationship between glycemia, ketonemia and ketonuria in children and adolescents in a summer camp under different conditions (fasting, casual hyperglycemia, moderate physical exercise) and to assess the utility of ketonemia determinations in diabetes control during this time. PATIENTS AND METHODS: There were 47 participants (25 boys and 22 girls), with a mean HbA1c determination prior to enrollment of 7.7 +/- 1.5 %. The mean age was 11.7 +/- 1.8 years and the mean time from onset of diabetes was 3.0 +/- 2.7 years. The mean body mass index was 18.3 +/- 3.9 kg/m2 (SDS -0.16 +/- 0.44), the mean insulin dose was 0.8 +/- 0.4 U/kg/ day, and the number of doses per day was between 2 and 4 (median = 3). Blood glucose and ketones (both measured with the Optium system, Abbott Diabetes Care) and urine ketones (Ketodiastix, Bayer) were determined in different situations. Statistical analysis was performed with the SPSS 11.5 program. RESULTS: Ketonemia results 45 minutes before and after moderate physical activity showed no significant increase in ketones (0.1 +/- 0.03 vs 0.23 +/- 0.07 mmol/l, ns). Preprandial blood ketone levels of > or = 0.5 mmol/l were found in 17.02 % of participants. Ketonemia was resolved during the first hour in all participants except one, in whom ketonemia resolved in 3 hours. Blood ketones were higher before breakfast than during the rest of the day (0.12 +/- 0.17 vs 0.02 +/- 0.05, p < 0.001). The mean glycemia level with ketosis (beta -HB > or = 0.5 mmol/l) was 174.5 +/- 64.7 mg/dl, a value slightly higher than the overall mean glycemia value (156.87 +/- 87.8 mg/dl). Ketonuria could not be measured in a high percentage of participants due to the difficulty of obtaining samples (between 24.5 % and 58.6 % in the different study groups). CONCLUSIONS: Measurement of glycemia together with ketonemia in a summer camp allows reliable follow-up of glycemic control to be performed. Ketonemia usually occurred before breakfast in parallel with slightly elevated glycemia, but resolved quickly. Moderate physical activity for 45 minutes does not seem to significantly increase blood ketones if metabolic control is normal. beta -HB is a useful parameter to determine whether moderate physical exercise is advisable or not. The lack of urinary ketone tests due to the difficulties of obtaining a sample can currently be solved by blood ketone measurement.

[Continuous glucose monitoring with type 1 diabetes mellitus]. / Monitorización continua de glucosa en la diabetes mellitus tipo 1.

BACKGROUND: Appropriate metabolic control of children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) is based on frequent measurements of capillary glycemia. However, this method offers only partial information on fluctuations in glycemia during the day, while episodes of postprandial hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia, mainly nocturnal, go unnoticed. OBJECTIVES: To analyze pre- and postprandial blood glucose levels, as well as the presence and duration of hypoglycemic episodes in diabetic children aged more than 8 years old with more than one year of disease duration. METHODS: Seventeen patients of both sexes (mean age: 12 years old) with type 1 DM were monitored with the continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS) during working days. Maximum values of pre- and postprandial glucose (1-3 hours after breakfast, lunch and dinner) were registered. Data were downloaded with a Com-station. RESULTS: The mean duration of sensor-wearing was 2.97 days. Pre- and postprandial values were high: mean preprandial values were between 144.9 and 160.5 mg % and mean postprandial values were between 230.4 and 248.8 mg %. The mean number of hypoglycemic episodes detected with the sensor was 4.9 compared with 1.8 detected with the glucometer (p < 0.05). Episodes of mainly nocturnal asymptomatic hypoglycemia were detected with a mean duration of 145 minutes during the night and 75 minutes during the day. CONCLUSIONS: The use of continuous subcutaneous glucose monitoring demonstrates that glycemic objectives are not achieved by conventional insulin therapy. It also shows that there are a high number of hypoglycemic episodes, most of which are asymptomatic.

[Meningitis due to haemophilus influenzae type f]. / Meningitis por Haemophilus influenzae tipo f.

We report an immunocompetent 5-month-old boy with Haemophilus influenzae type f (Hif) meningitis. The patient had previously been immunized with two doses of Hib conjugate vaccine (PRP-T). Vaccination failure was initially suspected based on Gram stain report. The results of culture identified a non-b Haemophilus influenzae capsular serotype (Hif).Non-Hib serotypes should be considered as potential pathogenic agents in children under the age of 5 years with invasive diseases. An adequate epidemiological surveillance system would be helpful in detecting the role of these non-b Hif serotypes as significant pathogens, which appear to be on the increase.