Lab Test Profiles re Diabetes to Kathleen

[Guest guest]

Kathleen,

I'm just posting a portion of this article. If you type in # 29396

into the " message number " box at the PAI Yahoo website, you can get

the entire article.

And I was wrong, the American Diabetes Association HAS finally

established a fasting BG higher than 126 as the indicator. It used to

be 140, and that's too high.

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Interpretation of Lab Test Profiles

Ed Uthman, MD

Diplomate, American Board of Pathology

Last update 6 Jan 2002

The various multiparameter blood chemistry and hematology profiles

offered by most labs represent an economical way by which a large

amount of information concerning a patient's physiologic status can be

made available to the physician. The purpose of this monograph is to

serve as a reference for the interpretation of abnormalities of each

of the parameters.

Reference ranges ( " normal ranges " )

Because reference ranges (except for some lipid studies) are typically

defined as the range of values of the median 95% of the healthy

population, it is unlikely that a given specimen, even from a healthy

patient, will show " normal " values for all the tests in a lengthy

profile. Therefore, caution should be exercised to prevent

overreaction to miscellaneous, mild abnormalities without clinical

correlate.

Glucose

Hyperglycemia can be diagnosed only in relation to time elapsed after

meals and after ruling out spurious influences (especially drugs,

including caffeine, corticosteroids, estrogens, indomethacin, oral

contraceptives, lithium, phenytoin, furosemide, thiazides, thyroxine,

and many more). Previously, the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus was

made by demonstrating a fasting blood glucose >140 mg/dL (7.8mmol/L)

and/or 2-hour postprandial glucose >200 mg/dL (11.1mmol/L) on more

than one occasion. In 1997, the American Diabetes Association

revised these diagnostic criteria. The new criteria are as follows:

a.. Symptoms of diabetes plus a casual plasma glucose of 200 mg/dL

[11.1mmol/L] or greater.

OR

b.. Fasting plasma glucose of 126 mg/dL [7.0 mmol/L] or greater.

OR

c.. Plasma glucose of 200 mg/dL [11.1 mmol/L] or greater at 2 hours

following a 75-gram glucose load.

At least one of the above criteria must be met on more than one

occasion, and the third method (2-hour plasma glucose after oral

glucose challenge) is not recommended for routine clinical use. The

criteria apply to any age group. This means that the classic oral

glucose tolerance test is now obsolete, since it is not necessary for

the diagnosis of either diabetes mellitus or reactive hypoglycemia.

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Just a portion of a very long article on lab values.

With love, hope and prayers,

Heidi

Heidi H. Griffeth

hhessgriffeth@...

SC and SE Regional Rep

Pancreatitis Association, Intl.

Note: All comments or advice are based on personal experience or

opinions only, and should not be substituted for consultation with

your medical professional.