- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 27/Jul 19:23

DATT wants glucose monitors for children with diabetes

The Diabetes Association of TT (DATT) president, Dr Andrew Dhanoo, is calling for a meeting with the Minister of Health to get the revolutionary Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) for all children with type one diabetes covered under the Chronic Disease Assistance Programme (CDAP). In an interview with Newsday at the association’s Success Street, Chaguanas head office on July 20, Dhanoo said former minister Terrence Deyalsingh was onboard with the idea and the devices were being assessed by the ministry’s Chemistry, Food and Drug division. However, he lamented he has not been able to secure a meeting with the new Health Minister, Dr Lackram Bodoe, or Minister in the Health Ministry Dr Rishaad Seecheran, to chart a way forward with the initiative. "I’m hoping they could see the benefit." So firm is his belief in the life-changing benefits of the CGM, Dhanoo challenged any member of the cabinet to wear the device, including Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar. "Our PM has publicly said that she is living with diabetes, and she does have that soft spot for children, so I’m hoping that she could see the need for children." A CGM is a small device with a needle that can be attached by a user to a suitable part of their body like a patch, to provide continuous monitoring of their blood sugar levels throughout the day. It can be synchronised to an app on your phone and, apart from reading sugar levels, can also alert the user or their caretakers when it gets to a dangerously high or low level. Without it, diabetics are required to use traditional "finger pricks" at regular intervals throughout the day and night to check their blood sugar levels – for children, this could be up to ten times a day. The CGM can remain attached to a person up to around two weeks before needing a new one to be reapplied. Despite its benefits, the technology is expensive, costing a user around $15,000 annually. The association is the sole authorised distributor of the Adex Linx monitor and provides them at cost price. Dhanoo said the association tries to get sponsors to help purchase monitors for children whose families are unable to afford them. He said, according to their figures within the association and the public health sector, there are around 200 children with type one diabetes in the country. This means it could cost taxpayers, if every child gets one through CDAP, $3 million annually – a nominal cost when compared to public spending bills. Dhanoo said not only will the monitors improve the lives of the children, but it could also lead to cost savings in clinical care through better disease management. [caption id="attachment_1168771" align="alignnone" width="684"] Tricia Jules with her daughter Tricia-Sierra Jules at the DATT at the annual type one diabetes children’s camp, at the DATT head office, Chaguanas on July 20. - Photo by Innis Francis[/caption] He said better disease management means a reduction in amputations, dialysis and other treatments for diabetes associated complications. "We are trying to push preventative care and this is what the CGM is about. It’s about not getting to the point where they actually have to get the treatment for these consequential outcomes of poor diabetes control. CGM could prevent them from getting them. The benefit is going to outweigh the cost in the long term." He said many children who are diagnosed with type one diabetes often end up experiencing some of the most detrimental consequences of the condition before they are 30. "All of these children out here, if we don’t take care of them now, in ten to 15 years, you’re going to see them losing their eyes. That’s the first thing that’s going to go, you’re going to see them losing their kidneys, you’re going to see them with their toes cut off. We don’t want to see that happening." Tricia Jules is a testament to the life-changing effects of the CGM. Her daughter Sierra, seven, was diagnosed with the condition at three years old and was among some 40 children who were part of a six-month study done by the DATT between June 2024 and January 2025 to evaluate the impact of the CGM. For her, it was a life-changing experience. She vividly remembers a night three years ago when she thought Sierra was going to die. "She woke up screaming, breathless, screaming and screaming. We didn’t know what to do, so we held her and I started to pray. I said ‘Check her sugar.’ "When we checked her sugar it was 38...We put glucose in her mouth, that was her first seizure, and ten to 15 minutes she came back and she didn’t know what went on." “I had to stay up the whole night and check her blood sugar every hour to make sure it don’t go up to high or it don’t go too low.” This became a regular routine for her, getting off her bed and checking Sierra’s blood sugar frequently through the night. Since the diagnosis, she said her family has had to be extremely precise and diligent in monitoring Sierra’s condition. "You can’t leave your child with nobody at all because you studying now if they give them too much insulin or too little bit of insulin the child could go into a coma so you always studying ‘I can’t go anywhere, I can’t do anything, so it takes everything out of your life. It literally rips you apart." She lamented that Sierra also missed several days of school because of the condition, as she would frequently get calls from the principal that her daughter was unwell and to come pick her up. However, she said the six months with the CGM allowed her to remotely monitor Sierra’s blood sugar levels, and she was able to sleep at night knowing the app would sound an alarm if her daughter’s blood glucose approached dangerous levels. "When she have on the CGM and she’s in school, I get the message on my phone at home, it alarms off at home (and) it alarms off in school as well for the teachers to know ‘aye the sugar is going high or it’s going low. We teach them how to go through the phone to realise what going on with her so before it happens, they already could take charge and even if I home I could call the school and say ‘check Sierra, her sugar is going low’ or ‘let Sierra run around a little bit or drink some water because her sugar going high.’ "That was comfort. Not the teacher calling every minute ‘you need to come and get your child.’" Furthermore, she said they were better able to manage the condition. Before the study, Sierra’s hba1c was 7.1 per cent before the CGM was installed. By the end of the trial, Sierra’s hba1c dropped to within normal range at 5.5 per cent. However, despite her best efforts since not using the machine anymore due to its cost, Sierra’s hba1c was 10.2 on July 20.   The post DATT wants glucose monitors for children with diabetes appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.