Improving screening of prediabetes and undiagnosed diabetes

Type II diabetes mellitus is a chronic medical condition affecting societies worldwide. The duration of hyperglycemia is a strong predictor of adverse outcomes and imposes immense clinical and public health concerns. The best way to prevent complications and reduce the economic burden is by capturing asymptomatic individuals early in the disease process.

Patients at a large urban academic medical center were not consistently identified as having a high risk of hyperglycemia.

The project used a pretest-posttest design. Retrospective data on new-onset hyperglycemia incidence were compared for all individuals seeking primary care services 6 weeks before and after the intervention.

Patients without a known hyperglycemia history were provided the screening tool to determine risk status. Additional screening measures were implemented for patients identified as high risk on the initial screening.

A total of 52 (61.6%) of the 84 individuals who met inclusion criteria during the intervention period were diagnosed with new-onset chronic hyperglycemia. In contrast, 20 (22.5%) of the 89 individuals identified during the retrospective period resulted in a statistically significant difference ( p < .001) in the frequency and accuracy of patients diagnosed with hyperglycemia between groups.

A diabetes risk assessment tool is quick and reliable in capturing high-risk individuals who would benefit from additional screening measures.