Diabetes Diagnosis & Tests 

People with diabetes can often experience symptoms; increase thirst, increases in frequency and quantity of urine or intense hunger,  as a result of high blood sugar. In some cases of  type 2 diabetes,  people can live without detecting diabetes even for years as they don’t show symptoms in the early stages. Without timely diagnoses and adequate treatment, complications and morbidity from diabetes go up several fold. Diagnosis of type 2 diabetes is often made from associated symptoms or incidentally through an abnormal blood test during routine blood tests or diabetes detection camps.

Diabetes Diagnosis Tests

Silverline hospital provides the best Diagnosis and Treatment of Diabetes in Kerala. We are the first Diabetes hospital in Kerala to be accredited by the National Accreditation by the Board of Hospitals, India. This is a recognition for the high quality standards in the diagnosis and treatment for diabetes at our hospital. The laboratory at Silverline has the most sophisticated equipment’s which helps our diabetologists or diabetes specialists to diagnose diabetes accurately and prescribe the right medicine for diabetes. Our well qualified laboratory staff  strictly follow the latest diabetes diagnostic criteria. Our diabetes specialist may suspect that you have an abnormality in any one of the following tests.

Fasting Blood Glucose

Fasting Blood Glucose is the preferred test for many people because of its convenience and low cost. To get a reliable result this test should be done in the morning; minimum 8 hours and maximum 12 hours after an overnight fast. People with a fasting glucose level of 100 to 125 milligrams per deciliter have a form of pre diabetes called impaired fasting glucose. Having this means, a person has an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes but does not have it yet. A level of 126 milligrams per deciliter or above confirmed by repeating the test on another day, means a person has diabetes.

Random Plasma Glucose Test

A blood sample will be taken at a random time. Blood sugar values are expressed in milligrams per deciliter. If a person has random blood glucose level of 200 milligrams per deciliter or higher with symptoms like increased thirst, increased urination and weight loss can be diagnosed to have diabetes. You can confirm the diagnosis of diabetes with a fasting blood glucose or by glucose tolerance test.

Oral Glucose Tolerance Test

This is the most sensitive blood glucose test but less convenient than fasting blood glucose. The Oral Glucose Tolerance Test requires fasting for at least 8 hours and a maximum of 12 hours before the test. The blood glucose level is measured immediately before and 2 hours after a person drinks a liquid containing 75 grams of glucose dissolved in water. If the blood glucose range is between 140 and 199 milligrams per deciliter, 2 hours after drinking the liquid, the person has a form of pre diabetes called impaired glucose tolerance. Having this condition puts a person at an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes but does not have it yet. A 2 hours glucose level of 200 milligrams per deciliter or above means a person has diabetes. A glucose tolerance test in pregnancy is used to detect the gestational diabetes. Blood glucose levels are checked at 0, 1 hour and 2 hours after ingesting 100 grams of glucose. If any one of the blood glucose levels are above normal during the test, the woman has gestational diabetes. All pregnant women should be screened for diabetes in pregnancy by a glucose challenge test usually done during 23 to 24 weeks of pregnancy. If the result is abnormal, they require confirmation by a glucose tolerance test.

Hemoglobin A1c diagnosis for diabetes

Hemoglobin A1c or HbA1c is a part of hemoglobin to which glucose is bound in blood. HbA1c levels depend on the overall blood glucose concentration in the body. The higher the glucose levels, the higher HbA1c readings. Levels of HbA1c are not influenced by daily fluctuations in the blood glucose concentration. They reflect the average glucose levels over the prior 3 month period. Therefore, HbA1c is a useful indicator of how well the blood glucose level has been controlled in the recent past. It is be used to monitor the effects of diet, exercise, and drug therapy on blood glucose in diabetic patients. Since HbA1c is not influenced by daily fluctuations in blood glucose concentration, it cannot be used to monitor day to day blood glucose concentrations. HbA1c values are being increasingly used to diagnose diabetes since 2013. It is becoming a popular method of diagnosis of diabetes since no fasting is required nor is the inconvenience of ingesting glucose. The interpretation of  values are as follows :

Normal: Less than 5.7%.

Pre diabetes: Between 5.7% and 6.4%.

Diabetes: 6.5% or higher

Diagnosis of Diabetic ketoacidosis :

Diabetic ketoacidosis is a problem that occurs more in people with type 1 diabetes and rare in type 2 diabetes. It occurs when the body cannot use sugar as fuel because of absolute insulin deficiency resulting in high blood sugar levels (in excess of 300 milligrams per deciliter). Fat is used for fuel instead. As fats are broken down, acids called ketones build up in the blood and urine. High levels, ketones are poisonous. This condition is known as ketoacidosis and is a life threatening condition which requires emergency hospitalization to the Intensive Care Unit for intensive management. Urine test for ketones is one of the simple tests used in diagnosis of type 1 diabetes subjects in ketoacidosis.

Who should be screened or Tested for Diabetes?

Doctors recommend testing in young adults; less than 40 years who are overweight or obese and in those with a strong family history of diabetes. Others should begin testing at the age of 40 years and above if they have one or more of the following risk factors.Being physically inactive.Having a family history of diabetes.
Giving birth to a baby weighing more than 3.5 kilograms or being diagnosed with gestational diabetes.Having high blood pressure 140/90 mm Hg or above or being treated for high blood pressure.Having a HDL  cholesterol level below 35 milligrams per deciliter or a triglyceride level above 250 milligrams per deciliter.Women with history of polycystic ovarian syndrome.Having Impaired Fasting Glucose or Impaired Glucose Tolerance on previous testing.Having a history of heart disease.