Remission in diabetic children in Riyadh

Few data are available about temporary remission in insulin dependent mellitus in Riyadh. Thirty-seven out of 115 (32.1%) diabetic children diagnosed over five and a half years (1985 to mid-1990) in Suleimania Children's Hospital were retrospectively studied. Partial temporary remission rate was 30.4% (35/115). Total temporary remission rate was 1.7% (2/115), lasting 18 months in a seven-year-old patient. The partial remission rate was higher in children above five years of age (36.9%), in children of unrelated parents (34.3%) and in female patients (51.4%). Of these, 64.8% were Saudi. Fifty-four percent of these patients presentd at onset without diabetic ketoacidosis and mean duration of symptoms before diagnosis was short (9.2 days). Mean time of occurrence was five weeks and mean duration of remission was nine weeks. Mean initial insulin dose was 1.35 unit/kg/day, while mean dose during the remission was 0.34 unit/kg/day. Mean glycosylated hemoglobin at onset was 12.3% and 7.4% during remission. Mean C-peptide level improved markedly from 0.16 nmol/L at onset to 0.29 nmol/L during remission and rose to 0.61 nmol/L following glucagon intravenous injection demonstrating the temporary recovery of pancreatic B-cell function. Finally, our low figures of remission (32.1%) are probably related to the young age distribution at onset in our series and perhaps to a different pattern of severity of insulin dependent diabetes mellitus in our community.