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Just a few months ago, Dr. Perkel, Beaver’s Endocrinologist
and the Health Education Department jointly introduced a new testing
device that tracks diabetic blood sugar levels continuously without
the pain and inconvenience of traditional testing methods.
The MiniMed Continuous Glucose Monitoring system looks like a pager
that a patient wears for 72 hours. Registered Nurses of the Health
Education Department’s Diabetic team insert a tiny sensor just
beneath the skin of the abdomen. It connects to the monitor with
a small wire and provides 288 glucose readings per day.
So far, over 40 patients with Type 1 Diabetes have worn the monitor
for the 3 day period. While wearing the device, the patient logs
when they eat and exercise. All this information is downloaded onto
a computer by the Health Education Department and then given to
Dr. Perkel.
“I have learned so much in the last few months about what
really goes on in Type 1 diabetics.” he said. The four finger
sticks a patient performs in a day usually miss the extreme high
and low readings. For example, one Beaver patient thought her highest
glucose reading was 167, which is close to normal, but the monitor
found that she actually had reached 233 that day.
The Health Education Department and Dr. Perkel discovered that many
diabetics experience very high readings through the middle of the
night, and then dip down right before waking in the early morning.
The monitor was able to show this “dawn phenomenon” pattern
that finger sticks had missed in the past.
The data from the monitor allows Dr. Perkel to treat diabetics more
aggressively by adjusting their insulin shots or insulin pumps to
more accurate levels. Bringing blood sugars in diabetics closer
to normal can significantly reduce the many complications of diabetes
such as blindness and kidney problems.
Patty Mackenize,RN of Health Education said that the goal of the
Department is to expand the program to Beaver’s primary care
physicians because there are many diabetics already on a waiting
list for the monitors. Many Beaver physicians attended Dr. Perkel’s
California Medical Association presentation in January. Dr. Perkel
said “This tool is sure to become the standard of practice
in the future.”
The Health Education Department offers classes and resources to
diabetics and can be reached at 335-4131.
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