Concentration of Blood Glucose - Lab Report Example

Blood Glucose Levels in Health and Safety Introduction Measuring the level or degree of concentration of blood glucose is a vital process in the identification (diagnosis) and monitoring treatment of diabetes (Patel et al., 2008, pg 3). Blood glucose or fasting plasma is generally applied in the preliminary diagnosis. Diabetes diagnosis is determined with a FPG value of ≥ 7.0mmol/l. In the case whereby the level of glucose is below 7, but raised to a commendable degree (for example, a range of 6.1 and 6.9mmol/l), there is still the possibility of the patient considered diabetic. In addition, the patient may possess a condition referred to as an “impaired tolerance for glucose.” In such cases, an OGTT (Oral Glucose Tolerance Test) is conducted to check if the patient is actually suffering from the disease in question (National Diabetes Data Group, 1979, Pg. 1045). It is a common practice to administer 75 grams of glucose (administered orally) overnight to the fasted patient. The patient’s blood is then sampled starting from a time of 0 after waiting for 2 hours. In other occasions, observations or sampling may be done at different time intervals in between the 0 and 2 hour points. When the blood glucose is ≥11.1mmol/l specifically at the 2hr-point, there is a definite diagnosis for diabetes. Consequently, between 11.0mm/l and 7.8mmol/l, the patient is indicative of the condition of ‘impaired tolerance to glucose’ (Lytle, 2007, Pg. 41). Methods The method used in the experiment involved collecting six blood samples for 4 patients (A-D). Samples were numbered from 1 to 6. Each patient tested ingested 75 grams of glucose by mouth. The glucose was available in water solution (Joslin, & Kahn, 2005, Pg. 94). Blood samples were also collected in the time intervals of 0, 15, 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes. The size of test tubes used 10 ml. 30 clean test tubes were used for each procedure in all samples used in the experiment. 100 µl of solution containing glucose was added to each test tube for the standards of test Tube 1 (S1) to Test Tube 6 (S6). In addition, 1000 µl of uranyl acetate (acetate solution) was added to each tube (s1-6 & A1-6, B1-6, C1-6, and D1-6). Vortex mixture was used in the mixture process. Results With the spectrophotometer fixed at 510 nm, the readings of the absorbance of each solution (in the tubes) were taken. In addition, the spectrophotometer was placed at zero without glucose (0 mmol/l) in tube S6. The following were the values found for each tube: Tube findings S1 = 0.00, S2 = 0.1, S3 = 0.252, S4 = 0.497, S5 = 0.59, S6 = 1.063 Patient A A1 = 0.930, A2 = 1.622, A3 = 1.225, A4 = 1.051, A5 = 1.010, A6 = 1.215 Patient B B1 = 0.357, B2 = 0.918, B3 = 0.549, B4 = 0.682, B5 = 0.848, B6 = 0.810 Patient C C1 = 0.116, C2 = 0.317, C3 = 0.239, C4 = 0.105, C5 = 0.132, C6 = 0.064 Patient D D1 = 0.33, D2 = 0.205, D3 = 0.461, D4 = 0.242, D5 = 0.391, D6 = 0.271 Graphical representation of the lab results Time (mins) Patient A Patient B Patient C Patient D 0 0.93 0.357 0.116 0.33 15 1.622 0.918 0.317 0.205 30 1.225 0.549 0.239 0.461 60 1.051 0.682 0.105 0.242 90 1.01 0.848 0.132 0.391 120 1.215 0.81 0.064 0.271 Discussion Diagnosis and explanation of the patients Patient A Represented by the blue line, patient A shows a diabetic condition, but without the normal conditions. Patient A begins with a fasting sugar figure of between 0.9 and 1.0. The level of sugar then rises steadily during the first 15 minutes until it reaches its peak somewhere around 1.6. The body then triggers a response by allowing the release of insulin by the pancreas (Center on Behavioral Medicine, nd, Pg. 1). Insulin is the hormone responsible for the necessary removal of excess sugar in the blood to be stored by other body organs (Flaws & Sionneau, 2001, Pg. 123). The level of sugar then starts to depreciate towards the starting point 1 hour and 15 minutes later before finally rising 1.2 in the proceeding 30 minutes. Patient B Patient B, represented by the red line has an indication of the diabetic condition. The fasting level of sugar is somewhere around 0.39. The level rises to 0.9 within the first 15 minutes then falls to 0.59 30 minutes later (Cryer, 1997, Pg. 68). After the sudden fall, the level of blood sugar then rises within the next 30 minutes to somewhere between 0.8 and 0.85 before finally flattening out between the 90th and 120th minutes. Patient C Patient C, represented by the green line, exhibits a case of non-reactive, normal, glucose configuration. The patient begins with a fasting glucose level of 0.1 within the first 15 minutes of the experiment until it attains its peak at a value approximate to 0.3. Within the next 45 minutes, the level of sugar drops to 0.1 (similar to the value of the starting point). This is because of the release of Insulin by the pancreas to remove excess sugar from the blood to the storage organs (American Diabetes Association, 2008; Pg. 1). The sugar level then flattens out in the next thirty minutes and finally drops to a lower value of around 0.05 within the final 30 minutes. Patient D Represented by the purple line, has a case of reactive hypoglycemic. Persons with this kind of condition start with a reasonable level of blood sugar (Berghe, 2008, Pg. 107). However, after taking the sugar, the level of blood increases and tends to attain its peak at values above 0.4. After attaining the peak at 0.45, the body initiates its reaction process by enabling the secretion of insulin by the pancreas in to the blood. Finally, the blood sugar amounts begin to fall. However, with this condition, the pancreas has the tendency of overreacting (Virkkunen, 1984, Pg. 33); a situation accompanied by a catastrophic drop in blood sugar levels. In case the body does not respond quickly to curb this condition, there is a possible occurrence of death to the patient (Chow, 2013, Pg. 70). Conclusions In conclusion, the report discussed the findings of the lab experiment conducted to determine the effect of blood sugar level on the lives and safety of four patients. The level of blood sugar dictates the type of reaction initiated by the body to tackle the increase or fall in the required amounts of sugar. Failure of the body to react accordingly to a given condition may be harmful or even lead to death of the affected individual with a given diabetic condition. References AMERICAN DIABETES ASSOCIATION. (2008). Diagnosis and classification of diabetes mellitus. Diabetes care, 31(Supplement 1), S55-S60. BERGHE, G. V. D. (2008). Acute endocrinology: from cause to consequence. New York, Humana Press. CENTER ON BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE (nd). Disease: Reactive Hypoglycemia. Retrieved, May 14, 2014, from http://www.centeronbehavioralmedicine.com/web_pages_behavioral_medicine/2_Body%20Mind/2-5_Disease/Background%20Information/Compiled-reactive_hypoglycemia.html CHOW, J. (2013). Hypoglycemia for dummies. Hoboken, N.J., John Wiley & Sons. http://rbdigital.oneclickdigital.com. CRYER, P. E. (1997). Hypoglycemia: pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment. New York, Oxford University Press. FLAWS, B., & SIONNEAU, P. (2001). The treatment of modern Western diseases with Chinese medicine: a textbook & clinical manual. Boulder, Colo, Blue Poppy Press. JOSLIN, E. P., & KAHN, C. R. (2005). Joslin's diabetes mellitus. Philadelphia, Lippincott Williams & Willkins. LYTLE, K. (2007). Reactive hypoglycemia : a personal journey into managing this condition. New York, iUniverse, Inc. NATIONAL DIABETES DATA GROUP. (1979). Classification and diagnosis of diabetes mellitus and other categories of glucose intolerance. Diabetes, 28(12), 1039-1057. PATEL, A., MACMAHON, S., CHALMERS, J., NEAL, B., BILLOT, L., WOODWARD, M., & TRAVERT, F. (2008). Intensive blood glucose control and vascular outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. pg 3. VIRKKUNEN, M. (1984). Reactive hypoglycemic tendency among arsonists. Emmitsburg, MD, National Emergency Training Center]. Read More