A. Gianini
Klinični oddelek za endokrinologijo, diabetes in presnovne bolezni, Pediatrična klinika, Univerzitetni klinični center Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenija

N. Bratina
Klinični oddelek za endokrinologijo, diabetes in presnovne bolezni, Pediatrična klinika, Univerzitetni klinični center Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenija

I. Zupančič
Klinični oddelek za endokrinologijo, diabetes in presnovne bolezni, Pediatrična klinika, Univerzitetni klinični center Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenija

T. Logar Dolinšek
Klinični oddelek za endokrinologijo, diabetes in presnovne bolezni, Pediatrična klinika, Univerzitetni klinični center Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenija

T. Battelino
Klinični oddelek za endokrinologijo, diabetes in presnovne bolezni, Pediatrična klinika, Univerzitetni klinični center Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenija

Abstract

Around the world more than 200 million people suffer from diabetes and around 5 % of them require insulin immediately. These have diabetes mellitus type 1. Around 130,000 people have diabetes in Slovenia, 5,000 of whom have diabetes type 1. Most of the patients with type 1 diabetes are young, most being children and adolescents. The number of children with newly-diagnosed diabetes is rapidly increasing. In recent decades children are being diagnosed at a younger age. Strict metabolic control is extremely important for the delay of late complications of diabetes. Insulin pumps, modern insulin analogues and continuous glucose monitoring systems can help us to achieve this goal in a large group of patients. Systems for continuous glucose monitoring were first used in the University Children’s Hospital, Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic diseases in 2000. The system was a teaching tool for the diabetic team, parents and children when introducing a new pump, in cases of bad metabolic control or difficulties in managing diabetes at home. In the early years the system was closed to the patient, the results being downloaded and seen on the computer, but modern systems offer real time data, which are constantly seen on the receiver’s screen.

Key words: children, type 1 diabetes, continuous blood glucose monitoring, sensor, late complications, metabolic control.