Q: This is for my brother's daughter who is less than 3 years old. She was admitted into a hospital last week for not being active. After all the tests (Blood, urine) the doctors informed us that there is no problem & she can be discharged. But couple of days back she fainted and we took her to the hospital. The doctor took the blood sugar & shocked to see that it was 787. Even the doctor was not able to believe this. Finally she was put in ICU & with intense treatment she is OK now. Still the blood sugar is oscillating between 150 to 300. I don't know what may be the reason.

A:Hyperglycaemia (ie, random blood glucose concentration more than 200 mg/dL or 11 mmol/L) results when insulin deficiency leads to uninhibited gluconeogenesis and prevents the use and storage of circulating glucose. The kidneys cannot reabsorb the excess glucose load, causing glycosuria, osmotic diuresis, thirst, and dehydration. Increased fat and protein breakdown leads to ketone production and weight loss. The possibility of type-I diabetes needs to be excluded in the child.