References
Abstract
Cancer and its treatments commonly require steroids to manage their side effects. Steroids increase blood glucose levels, causing new hyperglycaemia in patients with no known history of diabetes, termed steroid-induced diabetes mellitus (SIDM). This paper explores SIDM in cancer patients, identifying areas that could influence positive changes in current and future practice in its management and discuss their impact on practice in an outpatient setting. This paper concludes that active encouragement from staff can lead to an improved patient experience, as well as developing patient-led decisions and promoting self-managment
Cancer survival has increased over the past 20 years (Richards et al, 2018). This has been achieved through advances in treatment and improved management of treatment-induced side effects (Jeong et al, 2016). Radiotherapy, chemotherapy and general cancer symptoms, commonly require steroids to manage these side effects (Schultz et al, 2018). Steroids increase blood glucose levels, causing new hyperglycaemia in patients with no known history of diabetes, termed steroid-induced diabetes mellitus (SIDM) by the Joint British Diabetes Society (JBDS, 2014; NICE, 2017). Monitoring blood glucose is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE, 2017). However, SIDM is likely to be underdiagnosed, according to Bonaventura et al (2018), due to a lack of both evidence-based monitoring guidance and staff and patient awareness and education, especially in an outpatient setting (Gallo et al, 2018; Storey et al, 2017; JBDS, 2014).
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