Abstracts / Posters
How well are we adhering to NICE guidelines for the clinical management of type 2 diabetes in the primary care setting
Accepted for poster presentation, Diabetes UK 2003
The Counterweight Project Team
Introduction: Diabetes complications can be prevented or reduced by good management. NICE has recommended patients with type 2 diabetes have annual weight, blood pressure, lipids and HbA1c measured. Adherence to these guidelines was assessed in obese diabetic patients in primary care.
Method: Medical records were reviewed for 100 randomly selected obese patients (BMI> 30) from 40 Counterweight practices (n=4000) (UK, 7-centre obesity project). All weight, blood pressure, lipids & HbA1c results were recorded for the previous 12 months or last result was noted.
Results: 386 obese patients had type 2 diabetes (9.7%). A weight, blood pressure, HbA1c, and lipid measure Were recorded for 77%, 82%, 71% and 61% of patients respectively in 12 months. Of these type 2 diabetic patients, there was no blood pressure, HbA1c or lipid measure, in the primary care medical notes, for 3%, 21% and 25% respectively.
Conclusion: Monitoring of blood pressure, lipids and glucose control in obese patients with Type II diabetes is below current standards set in England and Wales. There is considerable room for improvement in the management of diabetes