Prognostic Relevance of Hypoglycemia Following an Oral Glucose Challenge for Cystic Fibrosis–Related Diabetes

Abstract

An annual oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) has become part of standard care in cystic fibrosis (CF) to screen for CF-related diabetes (CFRD) in patients older than 10 years of age (1). Up to 15% of patients with CF develop hypoglycemia during an OGTT (2), and there is some discussion whether such a response indicates an increased risk for the development of CFRD. In fact, a reactive hypoglycemia has been considered as an early stage of CFRD (3). However, the prognostic value of such a reactive hypoglycemia with respect to future glucose control has never been studied. Based on a delayed insulin secretion in CF, which might be relevant to both a hypoglycemic as well as a hyperglycemic response to a glucose challenge (4), we hypothesized that the hypoglycemic response to a glucose …