A stepwise screening programme for type 2 diabetes can be integrated into annual cardiovascular reviews, concludes a UK study.
Researchers studied 786 patients from a practice in Cambridge who had a history of hypertension, cardiovascular disease or chronic kidney disease.
Patients were invited for random blood glucose measurement as part of their annual review - of 544 attending, 120 had an RBG of 6.1 mmol/l or higher.
At the doctor's discretion these patients were offered either a fasting blood glucose or HbA1c measurement. A total of 48 patients attended, leading to nine being diagnosed with diabetes.
The screening programme accounted for 45% of all diabetes diagnoses at the practice between 2009 and 2010, including diagnoses in patients invited for screening who did not attend and those without eligible conditions.
Study author Dr Clare Goodhart, a GP in Cambridge, said: ‘Targeting high-risk individuals using a record-based, step-wise diabetes screening programme within annual review is feasible, and may be a logical and efficient use of primary care resources.'
But, she added: ‘Rrelatively few participants were diagnosed in this high-risk population. Strategies may be required to increase initial attendance and ensure completion of the screening programme.'
Primary Care Diabetes, 2011 online 1 October
