title: Clinical and laboratory characteristics of type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents: experience from a medical center.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The incidence of type 1 diabetes (T1D) is increasing rapidly worldwide, predominantly in younger individuals. We developed a checklist of all symptoms of T1D reported in the literature and compared the completeness of the recording of symptoms at initial presentation before and after the checklist was adopted.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively reviewed the records of patients newly diagnosed with T1D from January 1, 1979 through September 30, 2006 to assess the presenting features and test the usefulness of a symptom checklist in evaluating the history on presentation. The checklist was incorporated into the records as of October 1, 1994.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 304 patients identified, 130 (43%) had checklists in the charts. There were 146 (48%) boys, 98 (32%) who were diagnosed under the age of 6 years, and 198 (65%) presented with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). Records with a checklist noted diabetic symptoms that were subtle and easily ignored more often than records without the checklist. As compared with those diagnosed at an older age, patients diagnosed at < or = 6 years were more likely to be male, have DKA and a shorter symptom duration, and report more episodes of preceding viral infection and dyspnea. Patients with DKA also had a shorter symptom duration.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A diabetic symptom checklist was helpful in identifying clinical diabetic symptoms and signs which were otherwise easily ignored. Younger children were more likely to have a shorter symptom duration and a higher incidence of DKA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wei-Hsin
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Ting
authors.forename: Chi-Yu
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Fu-Sung
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Lo
authors.forename: Chen-Mei
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Hung
authors.forename: Chia-Jung
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Hsin-Jung
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Chao-Hsu
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Hung-Chang
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Yann-Jinn
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D016883:Diabetic Ketoacidosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies