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Research and Searchable Clinical Question
Research question – In a 6-year old boy with diabetic ketoacidosis, does the administration of insulin degludec in combination with dietary modifications effectively control the blood glucose with minimal risks of hypoglycemia in three months?
P (Patient) – 6-year old boy patient with diabetic ketoacidosis
I (Intervention) – insulin degludec in combination with dietary modifications
C (Comparison intervention) – standard basal-bolus insulin therapy
O (Outcome) – effective control of the blood glucose with minimal risks of hypoglycemia
T (Time) – Three months
The physician administered the standard insulin intervention initially to control the patient’s fasting blood sugar. Although the intervention helped to lower the blood sugar, the patient still suffered severe episodes of hypoglycemia. The caregivers (the boy’s parents) had to check the blood sugar frequently to plan his feeding accordingly. The patient would often fall unconscious at night due to the effects of nocturnal hypoglycemia. These effects caused anxiety, depression and frustration to the caregivers. Afterward, the physician put the patient on insulin degludec and advised the caregivers on the appropriate meal planning, which entailed small frequent meals (Kumar, 2015).The new intervention helped to reduce the patient’s blood sugar to near the normal level. Furthermore, the patient did not report any episode of hypoglycemia in three months. This study shows that insulin degludec is a more effective intervention for controlling the blood sugar and risks of hypoglycemia in a diabetic in comparison to the standard insulin therapy. A study by Heller et al. (2012), which compared the effectiveness and safety of the standard insulin therapy and insulin degludec shows that insulin degludec produces lower risks of nocturnal hypoglycemia in comparison to insulin glargine. The researchers studied about 630 patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. The study took 52 weeks.
