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. 2013 Apr 5;30(3):157–162. [Article in Spanish] doi: 10.1016/S0212-6567(02)78996-8

¿Hacemos caso del resultado de la hemoglobina glucosilada a la hora de tratar a nuestros pacientes diabéticos?

Are we taking notice of the glycosilated haemoglobin result when treating our diabetic patients?

M Virgós Bonfill 1,*, M Castro García 1, S Martínez Miarnau 1, A Vila 1
PMCID: PMC7669152  PMID: 12139852

Abstract

Objective

To study the influence of glycosilated haemoglobin (HbA1c) on the therapies chosen by primary care doctors when treating type-2 diabetes (DM2) patients.

Design

Retrospective observational study.

Setting

Urban health district.

Subjects

Randomised, representative sample of 152 DM2 patients, with a total of 265 documented clinical episodes which involved request and assessment of HbA1c result in 1999–2000.

Measurements and interventions

For each clinical episode we assessed the HbA1c and basal glycaemia figures and the therapeutic repercussion of the result on patient treatment: no change (NC), strengthening of hygienic-dietary measures (HDM), increase of dose (ID) or change of therapy (CT).

Results

We found a mean overall figure of 0.87±0.03 requests for HbA1c per patient per year. Of the 265 HbA1c studied, 54.7±5.9% can be considered acceptable, 18.4±4.6% deficient, and 26.9±5.3% unacceptable. However, the overall result of HbA1c was NC in 40.3±5.8%, HDM in 18.7%, ID in 25.9±5.2%, and CT in 15.1±4.2% of cases. Therapy changes (CT or ID) occurred in 26.8% of cases when was acceptable, 60.4% of cases when the glycosilated HbA1c was deficient, and 60% when the glycosilated HbA1c was unacceptable (P<.001).

Conclusions

It should be emphasised that, even when the HbA1c was very deficient, the dose was only increased or the treatment changed in under two-thirds of the population. It is also paradoxical that, when HbA1c with acceptable results was found, therapy was changed in around 25% of patients.

Key words: Diabetes, Glycosilated haemoglobin, Repercussion on therapy

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