In Brief: Kaiser Permanente Develops Tool To Identify High-Risk Diabetes Patients

Oakland-based Kaiser Permanente has developed a new tool intended to identify diabetes patients at greatest risk of developing precipitous drops in blood sugar levels.

The condition, known as severe hypogylcemia, can lead to emergency situations where patients quickly loose consciousness. About 100,000 emergency room visits per year nationwide are connected to the condition. It is often tied to diabetic patients taking medication to control their blood sugar who skip a meal or engage in intense exercise.

Researchers analyzed 200,000 Kaiser Permanente enrollees with diabetes in Northern California and created an algorithm to determine which patients were most at risk of developing severe hypoglycemia. The tool analyzes 156 different risk factors for the condition.

“Sometimes a person with diabetes is unaware that their blood sugar is dropping and can progress quickly into severe hypoglycemia, which has been associated with falls, automobile accidents, heart attacks, coma, and even death,” said Andrew J. Karter, senior research scientist with the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research and the study’s lead author.  “Hypoglycemia is often preventable with the proper clinical attention, and we believe this tool will help focus that attention on the patients who most need it.”