Describing diabetes
Article summary
His article has discussed the different types of diabetes in detail. The article is very informative and it gives the reader enough information to understand diabetes’ definition and its effects on the body.
According to scientists’ research conducted in 2013, approximately 400 million people all over the world are suffering from diabetes (Tonoli et al., 2012). There are two types of diabetes which include Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes. Type 1 Diabetes is a medical situation whereby the body does not produce insulin to manage its sugars level. On the other hand, Type 2 Diabetes is a condition whereby the body produces insulin but the amount produced is not enough for efficient functioning. Type 1 Diabetes accounts for 10% of the total cases of diabetes (Tonoli et al., 2012).
On the other hand, Type 2 Diabetes accounts for 90%. Gestation Diabetes is another type of diabetes although it is very rare. It is unique because it only affects women during their pregnancy period (Tonoli et al., 2012). The main and visible symptoms of diabetes are excessive urination, heightened thirst, hunger, weight gain/loss, frequent fatigue, and Sexual malfunctioning among other signs (Tonoli et al., 2012). Patients suffering from Diabetes can live a normal life if they have a healthy eating plan, if they exercise and if they take insulin (Tonoli et al., 2012).
However, the risk of conducting cardiovascular diseases is more possible for diabetic patients than for normal people. One of the easy preventive measures for cardiovascular diseases is to quit smoking. Diabetes causes an imbalance of blood pressure in two major ways. They include Low blood pressure also known as Hypoglycemia and high blood pressure also known as hyperglycemia (Tonoli et al., 2012). Both high and low blood pressure are sustained and balanced by insulin and that is why its absence creates an imbalance.
Functions of insulin: Should the nurse have questioned insulin overdose?
Article summary
This article has explained the different functions of insulin apart from regulating blood sugar levels. In addition to this, the author has explained the different effects of an insulin overdose.
Insulin performs a number of functions in the body. Nonetheless, the most important function is to normalize and keep low levels of glucose in the body (Yang et al., 2014). It does this through a number of biological processes including stimulating lipogenesis, diminishing lipolysis, and enhancing the transportation of amino acids into the cells (Yang et al., 2014).
Therefore, the nurse should have questioned the insulin overdose given to Mrs. Buckman. Knowing that untreated insulin-related problems can reduce a patient’s lifespan the nurse understood the dangers of an overdose. One of the major problems of having an insulin overdose is that it makes the body absorb more sugars from the blood (Yang et al., 2014). In addition, it inhibits the liver from producing enough glucose (Yang et al., 2014). When these two incidences occur, they cause the glucose level in the body to reduce significantly hence causing hypoglycemia.
In this case, the nurse was right to worry about the patient’s insulin overdose since it would have caused her to have severe low blood pressure. If Mrs. Buckman was given an overdose of insulin, the situation could have been dire because she would not be able to produce glucose in her body. Glucose is the body’s fuel and lack of it can be lethal. Therefore, the nurse should have questioned the order to give an overdose of insulin and she should have demanded an explanation from the doctor.
Preventing an occurrence of the same in future
Article summary
In this article, there are several preventive measures that have been outlined that can help in reducing the risk of overdosing. The article proposes several safety practices in nursing.
Whenever a patient is admitted to a hospital for insulin-related complications, great care should be given to his or her treatment. The nurses and doctors taking care of such a patient must work together and communication should be enhanced. I believe the problem was caused by an ineffective mode of communication. In Mrs. Buckman’s case, the problem was caused by a typing error. The nurse in charge was ordered to give 8.0 units to the patient but instead, she gave her 80 units of insulin.
To prevent such an error in the future, one of the most prudent actions is to give instructions in both numeric and word formats (Cohen, 2012). For instance, the house physician should have written ‘eight units’ of insulin. Writing the words and the numeric letters can help to reduce the possibility for wrong interpretation and confusion (Cohen, 2012). In addition, the nurses’ level of education should be reviewed. For a qualified nurse, it would have been very easy to notice that the amount of insulin given was unusual.
Nurses should be very careful with what they do and when they are given orders that they consider doubtful, they should feel free to ask or to raise objections. They should not always follow orders from physicians even when they are wrong. In order to achieve this, they should be given more power and responsibilities in the process of treatment.
References
Cohen, M. R. (2012). Safe practices for compounding of parenteral nutrition. Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, 36(2): 14-19.
Tonoli, C., Heyman, E., Roelands, B., Buyse, L., Cheung, S. S., Berthoin, S., & Meeusen, R. (2012). Effects of different types of acute and chronic (training) exercise on glycaemic control in type 1 diabetes mellitus. Sports medicine, 42(12): 1059-1080.
Yang, G., Geng, X. R., Song, J. P., Wu, Y., Yan, H., Zhan, Z., & Yang, P. C. (2014). Insulin-like growth factor 2 enhances regulatory T-cell functions and suppresses food allergy in an experimental model. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 133(6): 1702-1708.