A 6-MONTH-OLD toddler who was taken to a hospital unconscious was recently diagnosed with diabetes at Shenzhen Hospital of Southern Medical University, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported Monday.

The baby, identified as Linlin, was unconscious with shortness of breath and cold limbs when he arrived at the hospital. According to his parents, Linlin fell from a height the other day and developed symptoms such as vomiting and fever in a few days.

Linlin suddenly starting having convulsions when his parents were going through the admission process. A prompt examination showed that Linlin had severe metabolic acidosis.

According to Zhang Yuming, a pediatrician at the hospital, Linlin had high blood sugar levels, and he was suffering from hypovolemic shock and metabolic acidosis. It is mostly likely that he has diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), which is a potentially life-threatening complication of diabetes and requires the use of insulin to correct the metabolic imbalance of sugar and fat.

“We have a family history of diabetes. Both my grandfather and father have diabetes. I have always been very attentive to this but I never expected that my son would become ill first,” said Linlin’s father.

A series of tests confirmed that Linlin has Type 1 diabetes with ketoacidosis. As his pancreatic beta cells have almost been destroyed, he will require insulin injections for the rest of his life.

After the doctor’s careful treatment, Linlin is now out of danger and his blood sugar is being maintained at a normal level. “What we can do now is cooperate with the doctor in order to get standard treatments while controlling his blood sugar,” said Linlin’s parents.

Diabetes can occur at any age, even in newborn babies. Cases like Linlin’s have also been clinically recorded, and the causes are most likely genetically related.

With the improvements in quality of life, the prevalence of diabetes in children in China has seen significant increases. The prevalence of abnormal glucose metabolism in obese children is up to 28 percent.

Additionally, studies have shown that the incidence of Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes and other types of diabetes in Chinese children are 96.8/100,000, 8/100,000 and 3.3/100,000, respectively.

(Zhang Yu)