An unplanned delay between control visits influences the metabolic status in children with diabetes: an observational study

Abstract

To evaluate whether the metabolic status had been influenced by the longer interval between visits because of a strike at the diabetes outpatient clinic. During the strike from April 16 to June 15, 2008 all routine visits were cancelled. The HbA1c values from the last two visits prior to and the first two visits after the strike were compared with the values from the same periods the previous year. Danish speaking patients answered a questionnaire. For 155 children included, the mean HbA1c values before the strike were 8.1 and 8.1 (p = 0.39), while the value increased to 8.5 at the first visit (p < 0.0001) and 8.4 at the second visit following the strike (p = 0.14). No differences were found between any of the HbA1c values measured in 2007 (p > 0.05). Of the 152 questionnaires handed out, 113 (74.3%) were returned. Of these, 48 (42.5%) stated to have needed help, and 49 (43.3%) that their children's diabetes had deteriorated because of the strike. In this unplanned study, the increase of 0.4% in mean HbA1c supports previous findings that the interval between visits at a diabetic clinic is important for ensuring an acceptable metabolic control in children with diabetes.