Modern medical technologies in nursing observation of metabolic disorders – a case study

Introduction
Despite the traditional method of measurement of glucose in capillary blood in children, more and more often a continuous glucose monitoring system is used. Continuous glucose monitoring devices have been available to patients with diabetes for many years, and clinical trials have confirmed their effectiveness. The use of continuous glycaemic measurement allows us to increase the detectability of hypo- and hyperglycaemia. Hypoglycaemia in newborns and infants is a parameter that requires observation due to the circumstances that have an influence on the child’s health and development.

Case description
The objective of this work is to show the usability of the continuous monitoring system using the Guardian RT system in nursing observation of an infant with hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia. The study covered a 1.5-month-old infant who was hospitalised in the Clinic of Paediatrics, Endocrinology, and Diabetology in order to diagnose the cause of hypoglycaemia. In the research the method of a case study was used including the following methods: measurement, observation, interview, and document analysis.

Conclusions
The application and nursing supervision using a system of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) in an infant revealed postprandial hypoglycaemia for up to two hours and even decreased glycaemia after taking the recommended milk mixture. The use of CGM allowed proper use of the genetic diagnosis of the child.