All issues > Volume 44(4); 2001

Original Article

J Korean Pediatr Soc. 2001;44(4):450-455. Published online April 15, 2001.

Clinical Evaluation of Hypoglycemic Symptoms Reported by Children with Insulin-dependent Diabetes Mellitus and by Their Parents

Byeong Eul BE Lee¹, Hwa Young HY Park¹, Cheong Mi CM Cheon¹, Eun Kyeong EK Kwon¹, Seung Mee SM Song², Jung Sim JS Kim², Dong Kyu DK Jin²

¹Department of Pediatrics, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
²Department of Pediatrics, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

Correspondence Dong Kyu DK Jin ,Email: jindk@smc.samsung.co.kr

Abstract

Purpose
: The following study has been carried out to find the symptoms of hypoglycemia and the symptoms of transient focal neurologic deficit, which were complained by insulin dependent diabetes mellitus patients and their parents.
Methods
: The subjects of this study were 16 insulin dependent diabetic patients who were admitted to the pediatric department of Samsung Medical Center. From the 28 possible symptoms of hypoglycemia, the patients and their parents were asked to choose the symptoms they were experiencing through questionnaires, and the mean score was obtained by dividing the frequency of each symptom manifestation by 4 levels.
Results
: Of the 16 patients, there were 6 males and 10 females and their average age was 13 years. The complaints raised by insulin dependent diabetic patients and their parents regarding the symptoms of hypoglycemia were relatively similar. However the frequency of observed symptoms such as pounding heart, dizziness and trembling was higher in the complaints of patients, and the mean score of objective symptoms such as slurred speech, odd behaviors, aggressiveness was much higher in the complaints of parents. During symptoms of hypoglycemia, three cases were seen throwing fits of convulsions due to neurologic deficit.
Conclusion
: It is thought that parents can offer a reasonably accurate information on the symptoms of hypoglycemia in insulin dependent diabetic patients, and particularly, behavioral changes in young children with diabetes mellitus is considered as an important characteristic for testing hypoglycemia.

Keywords :Hypoglycemia, Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, Children, Symptoms