Stress hyperglycemia in childhood: a very high risk group for the development of type I diabetes

Stress Hyperglycemia in Children and Adolescents as a Prognostic Indicator for the Development of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Hyperglycemia is a common manifestation in the course of severe disease and is the result of acute metabolic and hormonal changes associated with various factors such as trauma, stress, surgery, or infection. Numerous studies demonstrate the association of adverse clinical events with stress hyperglycemia. This article briefly describes the pathophysiological mechanisms which lead to hyperglycemia under stressful circumstances particularly in the pediatric and adolescent population. The importance of prevention of hyperglycemia, especially for children, is emphasized and the existing models for the prediction of diabetes are presented. The available studies on the association between stress hyperglycemia and progress to type 1 diabetes mellitus are presented, implying a possible role for stress hyperglycemia as part of a broader prognostic model for the prediction and prevention of overt disease in susceptible patients.

Hyperglycemia in Acutely Ill Non-diabetic Children in the Emergency Rooms of 2 Tertiary Hospitals in Lagos, Nigeria

OBJECTIVES

The study aimed to determine the prevalence of hyperglycemia in sick children admitted into the emergency rooms and to investigate its relationship with adverse outcomes.

METHODS

A prospective study involving 2 tertiary hospitals in Lagos. Study subjects included all children aged beyond 1 month. An Accu-Chek Active glucometer was used for the bedside blood glucose determination. Hyperglycemia was defined as blood glucose greater than 7.8 mmol/L.

RESULTS

A total of 1045 patients were recruited with hyperglycemia being recorded in 135 patients (prevalence rate of 12.9%). Mean age of the hyperglycemic patients was 29.0 ± 31.23 months. Prevalence rates of hyperglycemia among the leading diagnoses were 17.4% in acute respiratory tract infections, 11% in malaria, 15.3% in septicemia, 14.9% in gastroenteritis, and 18.2% in burns. Other conditions include sickle cell anemia, meningitis, and malnutrition. Mortality rate was significantly higher overall in hyperglycemic compared with the normoglycemic patients (15.4% vs 8.0%, P = 0.011). With regard to specific diagnoses, significantly higher mortality rates were recorded in hyperglycemic patients with acute respiratory tract infections (28% vs 8%, P = 0.011) and malaria (21.4% vs 5.0%, P = 0.006) than in their normoglycemic counterparts.

CONCLUSIONS

Hyperglycemia is common in ill children admitted to the emergency rooms and is associated with 2 to 4 times higher mortality in common childhood diseases encountered. Blood glucose determination is important in all acutely ill children at presentation. The practice of empirical administration of intravenous glucose in some resource-constrained facilities where blood glucose testing facilities are not readily available should be discouraged.

Long-term metabolic alterations in a febrile seizure model

OBJECTIVE

Febrile seizures (FS) are the most common neurological disease in infancy and early childhood, it can lead to metabolic changes and have long-term health implications. Aim of this study was to investigate the long-term effects of FS on metabolism.

METHODS

We measured certain metabolic parameters in hyperthermia-prone (HP) rats, which were developed using a selective breeding process and showed a lower seizure threshold than wild-type (WT) rats. Body weight, body length, abdominal circumference and the levels of fasting blood glucose, serum triglyceride, and total cholesterol concentrations were analyzed. The mRNA expression of genes involved in glucose and lipid metabolism was determined by qPCR and the histone methylation level in the liver was determined by western blot.

RESULTS

We found that the body weight of the HP rats was significantly lower than that of the WT rats. Similarly, the fasting blood glucose and serum triglyceride levels were lower in the HP group compared with the WT group. These changes were accompanied by increased mRNA expression of genes such as phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) and carnitine palmitoyl transferase-1 (CPT-1), but not peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα). We also found tri-methylation of histone 3 at Lys9 and Lys27 was decreased in the HP group.

CONCLUSIONS

These data may suggest an underlying mechanism by which FS have a long-term effect on energy metabolism via histone methylation.

Extreme stress hyperglycemia during acute illness in a pediatric emergency department

OBJECTIVES

Although mild stress hyperglycemia in pediatric illness is common, severe hyperglycemic responses (≥300 mg/dL [16.7 mmol/L]) to stress are unusual. We sought to determine the incidence and course of extreme stress hyperglycemia (ESH) in acute pediatric illness, including whether it is a marker of increased mortality or associated with subsequent development of diabetes mellitus (DM).

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed a cohort of 55,120 consecutive visits over 6 years to a pediatric emergency department at which blood glucose concentrations were measured and report on visits with laboratory glucose 300 mg/dL (16.7 mmol/L) or greater without DM.

RESULTS

There were 72 cases of ESH (incidence of 0.13%). Median age was 8.8 years; 63% were male. The most common diagnoses were respiratory illness (49%), trauma (15%), and seizure (8%), and 65% of patients had received glucose-influencing interventions before evaluation. Eighty-five percent were ill appearing, 60% were admitted to the intensive care unit, and half had acidemic pH values. The overall mortality rate was 22%. Despite treatment of hyperglycemia in only 8 patients, glucose concentrations decreased to 150 mg/dL (8.3 mmol/L) or less within 48 hours in 67% and before discharge or death in 85% of patients. Preceding symptoms and concurrent laboratory results were helpful to exclude diabetes, and none of the surviving patients with follow-up available went on to develop type 1 or 2 DM.

CONCLUSIONS

Although rare, ESH (≥300 mg/dL [16.7 mmol/L]) does occur in acute pediatric illness, in most cases is at least partially iatrogenic, and is a marker of severe illness and high mortality. Normoglycemia is typically restored quickly with treatment of the primary illness. No association was found with a subsequent diagnosis of DM.

Hyperglycemia in the pediatric intensive care unit

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Studies on critically ill adults demonstrate the benefits of glycemic control. There is a paucity of data, however, in pediatric intensive care settings. This review summarizes sentinel papers in the adult literature, outlines mechanisms by which hyperglycemia mediates its effects in the critically ill, highlighting those described in pediatrics, and discusses studies that associate hyperglycemia with negative outcome in critically ill children.

RECENT FINDINGS

Retrospective studies and prospective cohort studies have linked hyperglycemia to worse outcome in critically ill children. Investigations in small, homogenous groups, such as trauma, sepsis, burn and neonatal patients, have shown negative associations between hyperglycemia and injury-specific outcomes and have elucidated previously proposed mechanisms of tissue injury in children. In addition, certain properties of hyperglycemia, such as duration, peak, and excursion, may be more relevant than absolute levels of glucose. Larger studies generalize findings to heterogeneous pediatric intensive care populations, across ages and diagnoses. Further, in studies accounting for insulin administration, no obvious increases in hypoglycemia-related morbidity have been noted.

SUMMARY

Glucose control in pediatric intensive care has been receiving increasing attention. Large, prospective studies are needed to address certain issues in pediatrics, such as differences in diseases, target values, complications of disease, risks and sequelae of hypoglycemia and logistical challenges.

Risk of type 1 diabetes development in children with incidental hyperglycemia: A multicenter Italian study

OBJECTIVE

The aim of our study was to determine whether children with incidental hyperglycemia are at an increased risk of developing type 1 diabetes.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

A total of 748 subjects, 1-18 years of age (9.04 +/- 3.62, mean +/- SD), without family history of type 1 diabetes, without obesity, and not receiving drugs were studied and found to have incidental elevated glycemia defined as fasting plasma glucose >5.6 mmol/l confirmed on two occasions. Subjects were tested for immunological, metabolic, and immunogenetic markers.

RESULTS

Islet cell antibodies >5 Juvenile Diabetes Foundation units were found in 10% of subjects, elevated insulin autoantibody levels in 4.6%, GAD antibody in 4.9%, and anti-tyrosine phosphatase-like protein autoantibodies in 3.9%. First-phase insulin response (FPIR) was <1st centile in 25.6% of subjects. The HLA-DR3/DR3 and HLA-DR4/other alleles were more frequent in hyperglycemic children than in normal control subjects (P = 0.012 and P = 0.005, respectively), and the HLA-DR other/other allele was less frequent than in normal control subjects (P = 0.000027). After a median follow-up of 42 months (range 1 month to 7 years), 16 (2.1%) subjects (11 males and 5 females), 4.1-13.9 years of age, became insulin dependent. All had one or more islet autoantibodies, and the majority had impaired insulin response and genetic susceptibility to type 1 diabetes. Diabetes symptoms were recorded in 11 patients and ketonuria only in 4 patients. The cumulative risk of type 1 diabetes was similar in males and females, and it was also similar in subjects under or over 10 years, whereas the cumulative risk of type 1 diabetes was increased in subjects with one or more autoantibodies and in those with FPIR <1st centile.

CONCLUSIONS

Children with incidental hyperglycemia have a higher-than-normal frequency of immunological, metabolic, or genetic markers for type 1 diabetes and have an increased risk of developing type 1 diabetes.

Effect of hypoxia on blood glucose, hormones, and insulin receptor functions in newborn calves

At between 7 and 11 h after delivery, 14 fasted calves were randomly divided into two groups to examine the effects of neonatal hypoxia on blood glucose metabolism and its mechanisms. One group was subjected to breathe a gas mixture containing 4.8-5.9% oxygen in nitrogen from a hood for 2 h. The second control group breathed atmospheric gas. Several possible causes of changes in blood glucose were assessed, including insulin, glucagon, and hydrocortisone as prereceptor factors, insulin binding as a receptor factor, and insulin receptor tyrosine kinase (IR-TK) activity as a postbinding factor. The hypoxic animals exhibited increased concentrations of blood glucose (from 5.47 +/- 1.61 mmol/L to 7.97 +/- 1.30 mmol/L), plasma insulin, and hydrocortisone, but decreased concentrations of glucagon. The percentage of specific binding activity decreased in the hypoxic group compared with the control group (12.71 +/- 1.25% versus 15.14 +/- 1.27%, p < 0.01). Several parameters of insulin receptor binding, i.e. affinity constants, high and low binding capacities, and numbers of binding sites, showed a tendency to decrease after hypoxia. Only lower affinity binding sites decreased significantly. At the postreceptor level, IR-TK activity was decreased in the hypoxic group compared with controls. It is concluded that hypoxia induced insulin resistance in these newborn calves. The results suggest that the primary mechanism for insulin resistance in the hypoxic newborn was reduced insulin receptor responsiveness with attenuated activity of IR-TK at the postreceptor level.

Aspects of the etiology, prediction, and prevention of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in childhood

This article focuses on recent developments that have defined the autoimmune nature of this entity and its genetic basis, especially the crucial roles of aspartic acid at position 57 of the DQ beta chain and arginine at position 52 of the DQ alpha chain of the HLA complex on chromosome 6 in conferring susceptibility; other genetic markers on other genes are mentioned. These genetic markers help to explain the worldwide differences in prevalence and incidence of type 1 diabetes. Because the autoimmune process may be gradual, markers of beta pancreatic cell damage, such as islet cell antibodies, glutamic acid decarboxylase antibodies, and insulin autoantibodies, coupled with evidence of progressive failure of insulin secretion may be used to predict the future onset of disease. In turn, accurate prediction may permit preventive intervention. Two intervention trials are mentioned: (1) Diabetes Prevention Trial for Type 1, a multicenter trial in the United States using insulin; and (2) European Nicotinamide Diabetes Intervention Trial in Europe using nicotinamide as the preventive or delaying agent. These first steps reflect the remarkable progress and understanding of this major problem of childhood and the hopes for its future prevention.

Increased prevalence of diabetes-related autoantibodies in celiac disease

Forty-four nondiabetic patients with celiac disease (CD) were examined for the presence of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM)-related autoantibodies. Islet cell antibodies (ICA) were detected in 2 of 44 (4.5%). None of the 200 age- and sex-matched healthy controls was ICA positive (p < 0.05). Competitive anti-insulin antibodies (CIAA) were detected in 1 of 44 (2.5%) patients. First-phase insulin reserve (FPIR), stimulated insulin reserve (SIR), and glycosylated hemoglobin (GHB) levels were normal in the autoantibody-positive patients. Our data suggest that, like first-degree relatives of IDDM patients, CD patients are characterized by an increased prevalence of diabetes-related autoantibodies. Further follow-up is needed to determine whether the presence of these autoantibodies in nondiabetic CD patients predicts future IDDM.

Transient incidental glucosuria in children

A consecutive series of 78 children with transient asymptomatic glucosuria was studied and followed up for up to 7.3 years. The age at presentation was 0.9-17.6 (median 4.6) years. One third of the patients had random blood glucose levels of > 10.0 mmol/l (180 mg/dl). Five patients (6.4%) developed insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus within 2.1 years after the first incident of glucosuria. These patients presented with higher levels of glycaemia than others, and three out of five were positive for islet cell antibodies with a first-phase insulin response < 46 mU/l in all four studied. Of the remaining 73 children, 3 were positive for islet cell antibodies and 12/55 had a first-phase insulin response under 46 mU/l. The insulin response deteriorated in 3 but reverted to normal in 7 patients. CONCLUSION. For a child with transient glucosuria and with presence of islet cell antibodies and a subnormal first-phase insulin response, therapeutic attempts to prevent overt insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus should be considered.

An unusual case of the nonketotic hyperglycemic syndrome during childhood

The nonketotic hyperglycemic syndrome is rare during childhood and may occur as the initial manifestation of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus or during an episode of gastroenteritis. In this article, we report an unusual case of this syndrome in a female infant who had atypically severe hyperglycemia in association with gastroenteritis. In addition, we provide a review of the literature and summarize the pathophysiologic mechanisms of the nonketotic hyperglycemic syndrome.

Prevalence of stress hyperglycemia among patients attending a pediatric emergency department

OBJECTIVE

To determine the prevalence and clinical characteristics associated with stress hyperglycemia among children and adolescents attending a pediatric emergency department.

DESIGN

Patients who required a venipuncture for evaluation of an acute illness or injury from October 1992 to March 1993 in an urban pediatric emergency department were enrolled and screened prospectively for hyperglycemia (glucose level > or = 8.3 mmol/L; > or = 150 mg/dl). Data were collected regarding demographic characteristics, history, clinical findings, and admission status.

RESULTS

A total of 926 patients ranging in age from 3 days to 21 years were enrolled. Blood glucose values ranged from 1.94 mmol/L (35 mg/L) to 14.65 mmol/L (264 mg/dl); 35 patients (3.8%) had hyperglycemia. The prevalence of stress hyperglycemia was significantly increased among patients if they (1) had temperatures greater than 39.5 degrees C (9.3%) versus normal temperatures (2.8%) (p < 0.001), (2) had been admitted to a critical care unit of the hospital (24.1%) or to any hospital unit (4.4%) versus not having been admitted (2.6%) (p < 0.001), and (3) had received fluids intravenously (6.0%) versus having received no fluids intravenously (2.7%) (p = 0.014).

CONCLUSIONS

Stress hyperglycemia is a frequent clinical occurrence in a pediatric emergency department. It does not appear to be associated with a particular diagnostic category but is significantly associated with severity of illness as measured by elevated temperature, hospital admission, and hydration status.

Distinction between transient hyperglycemia and early insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in childhood: a prospective study of incidence and prognostic factors

We prospectively studied 63 children with transient hyperglycemia to determine their risk of acquiring insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and to evaluate the predictive value of immunologic markers of prediabetes and of the intravenous glucose tolerance test. Children with transient hyperglycemia were identified by a prospective systematic review of the laboratory reports of a large children's hospital and an office-based pediatric practice and by referral from pediatricians. Transient hyperglycemia occurred in 0.46% of children seen in the children's hospital and in 0.013% of children attending a pediatric office practice. Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus developed within 18 months of identification in 32% of children in whom transient hyperglycemia was discovered in the absence of a serious illness, compared with 2.3% of children identified during a serious illness (relative risk, 13.9; 95% confidence interval, 1.56 to 123.5). Islet cell antibodies and competitive insulin autoantibodies each had a 100% positive predictive value for IDDM; the negative predictive value of islet cell antibodies and competitive insulin autoantibodies was 96% and 98%, respectively. The stimulated insulin release during an intravenous glucose tolerance test, adjusted for age, had the highest overall accuracy of prediction. All children less than 6 years of age with stimulated insulin release levels < 85 pmol/L (12 microU/ml) subsequently had IDDM, as did an 11-year-old child whose stimulated insulin release level was below the 1st percentile of 170 pmol/L (24 microU/ml). To date, no child whose stimulated insulin release level was above the 5th percentile has had IDDM. We conclude that when transient hyperglycemia occurs during a serious intercurrent illness, the risk of progression to IDDM is low. In contrast, one third of children in whom transient hyperglycemia is identified without a serious illness can be expected to have IDDM within 1 year. A combination of islet cell antibodies, competitive insulin autoantibodies, and stimulated insulin release levels during an intravenous glucose tolerance test can accurately distinguish children with prediabetes from those with presumed benign transient increases in plasma glucose concentrations.