Diabetic Information and Courses from MediaLab, Inc.
These are the MediaLab courses that cover Diabetic and links to relevant pages within the course.
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| Clinical Significance cont'd Individuals with diabetes mellitus may excrete small amounts of protein in the urine which may signal the beginning of reduced glomerular filtration. Stabilizing the blood glucose level at this time may delay progression of diabetic nephropathy. Women in the last month of pregnancy may develop proteinuria as the first sign of impending eclampsia. Eclampsia is the gravest form of toxemia of pregnancy. The presence of protein in this situation must be evaluated by the physician in conjunction with other clinical symptoms.Benign transient proteinuria may be the result of: exposure to cold, strenuous exercise, dehydration, and/or high fever. Benign transient proteinuria may also occur during the acute phase of a severe illness. | View Page |
| Clinical Significance of Positive Urine Ketone Result Ketone bodies are usually absent in urine. High levels of ketones are present in the urine of individuals with uncontrolled diabetes. In diabetes the ketones are present because the body's ability to metabolize carbohydrates is defective. Detecting the presence of ketones in the urine is a valuable aid to managing and monitoring individuals with diabetes mellitus. Ketonuria is an indication that the insulin dose needs to be increased. It is also an early indicator of insulin dosage problems in juvenile diabetes or in diabetics experiencing other medical problems. Electrolyte imbalance and dehydration occur when ketones accumulate in the blood. If these conditions are not corrected, the patient may develop acidosis and ultimately diabetic coma. Low levels may be detected during conditions of physiological stress such as fasting, rapid weight loss, frequent strenuous exercise or prolonged vomiting. The presence of ketones in these situations is due to either inadequate intake or increased loss of carbohydrates. | View Page |
| Significantly increased levels of ketones are detected in the urine with which of the following conditions? (Choose ALL of the correct answers) | View Page |
| Clinical Significance Early detection of bacteria is important in order to prevent cystitis from developing into inflammation or infection involving the kidney and renal pelvis. The nitrite portion of the test strip can be used to screen individuals who are at risk for developing urinary tract infections, such as diabetics, persons with recurrent infections, or pregnant women. The test is also useful in evaluating the success of antibiotic therapy that is used to treat a bladder infection. | View Page |
| Metabolic acidosis is characterized by: | View Page |
| Microalbumin Test The presence of low levels of albumin (microalbumin) in the urine is an important finding in an individual with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes. The development of clinical nephropathy leads to reduced glomerular filtration and eventually may lead to renal failure. For this reason, early detection of microalbumin is important in order to avert renal complications in a diabetic patient. The presence of microalbuminuria has also been associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Reagent strips that are used for routine urinalysis cannot detect low levels of albumin excretion (1 to 2 mg/dL). Special reagent strips that are sensitive for these low levels of albumin are useful for periodic monitoring of patients with diabetes, hypertension, or peripheral vascular disease. | View Page |
| Testing for Reducing Substances Other Than Glucose Testing pediatric urine specimens for reducing substances other than glucose is a policy that should be implemented in the urinalysis laboratory. The maximum age for this testing is defined by each laboratory and is usually based on consultation with the pediatric clinical staff. The policy that is implemented in most laboratories is to test urine specimens for other reducing substances if the glucose test on the reagent strip is negative and the urine specimen is from a child below the age of one. Verify the policy for your own laboratory because the cutoff age for testing may be different. | View Page |
| Causes of Ketonuria Under conditions of abnormal carbohydrate metabolism such as occurs in diabetes mellitus, ketones accumulate in the blood (ketonemia) and are excreted in the urine (ketonuria). The accumulation of ketone bodies is often the cause of acidosis and coma in diabetics. | View Page |
| Samples and Populations A population is the entire group of persons or objects about which you want to make inferences. A sample is a small portion of that population that you actually test and examine, in order to collect data and make those inferences.For example, suppose you wanted to test the average fasting blood glucose value of diabetics in the United States. It would be impossible to test all of them, so you would choose a small sample of them, usually through some random process. Then you would test only that sample, and from that, make an inference about the average glucose value of the whole country's diabetic population.Choosing a sample that is representative of the population, however, is not an easy task. No matter how large a sample is, or how precisely the tests on that sample are carried out, the results are worthless if your sample is biased. | View Page |
| Data and Data Pairs Sometimes you will need to analyze data that are in the form of pairs, with one independent variable and one dependent variable in each pair. For example, the data pairs may be ages and weights of children, or hours studied and test scores of students.The best way to represent these data graphically is with a scatterplot: plotting each independent variable as an x-coordinate, and each dependent variable as a y-coordinate. This allows the reader to quickly see if there is a relationship between the two variables, and how strong the relationship is.You may also analyze data that do not occur as pairs, but as single numbers. Examples include the test scores of many students, or the glucose levels of diabetic patients. These data are presented graphically with a frequency distribution. | View Page |
| Other Factors Affecting Drug Absorption and Distribution In addition to protein availability, other factors may affect drug absorption and distribution in the body as a whole or at specific sites within the body. The following table highlights some of these other factors. Factor Discussion Regional blood flow Reduced area blood flow can be seen in diabetics and enhanced blood flow can be seen in tumors. Lipid solubility of the drug The more lipophilic a drug is, the more likely it will enter the central nervous system. The integrity of the GI tract In a diseased gut, an orally-administered drug may not be absorbed as expected. Age Drug kinetics and dispositions change throughout life. In general, metabolism of drugs is reduced in the elderly. Genetics Mutations or deletions in drug metabolizing enzymes can greatly affect a drug's disposition. | View Page |