Abstract
The qualification of physicians is a key factor in controlling type 1 diabetes (T1D) since they provide crucial information to their patients about self-management. To investigate whether Chinese physicians’ medical strategies influence the control of T1D in their patients, we designed a questionnaire to survey Chinese physicians, which covered their diagnosis and patient-management strategies for T1D. A total of 442 completed questionnaires were received from 35 public hospitals in 12 cities. The results showed Chinese physicians mainly diagnosed T1D based on the clinical features and islet dysfunction. One-third of physicians in this study still prescribed non-basal-bolus insulin regimens to their T1D patients. More than 80% of the doctors prescribed alpha-glucosidase inhibitors as adjunctive therapy, in addition to insulin therapy. Moreover, most of the physicians in China did not pay attention to identify coexistent autoimmune diseases. T1D patients in China were not armed with self-management knowledge and skills, which should be provided by their doctors. One of the circumstances leading to insufficient disease control in Chinese T1D patients is the ineffective therapeutic strategy prescribed by their physicians. We need to promote knowledge of efficient strategies among physicians in China to achieve better disease control in Chinese T1D patients in the future.
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Acknowledgments
We express our sincere appreciation to a number of general hospitals (First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing General Hospital of Nanjing Military Command, The 82nd Hospital of the People’s Liberation Army, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Zhongda Hospital Southeast University, Nanjing Children’s Hospital, Nanjing First Hospital, BenQ Medical Center in Nanjing, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Soochow Municipal Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University, The First People’s Hospital of Zhenjiang, Wuxi People’s Hospital, The First People’s Hospital of Changzhou, The Second People’s Hospital of Changzhou, The Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, The First People’s Hospital of Nantong, Northern Jiangsu People’s Hospital, The First People’s Hospital of Yangzhou, Huai’an First People’s Hospital, Huai’an Second People’s Hospital, Yancheng No. 1 People’s Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical College, The First People’s Hospital of Xuzhou, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical College, Xuzhou Third People’s Hospital, Xuzhou Central Hospital, The First People’s Hospital of Lianyungang, The Second People’s Hospital of Lianyungang, Jiangsu Taizhou People’s Hospital, The First People’s Hospital of Changshu, The First People’s Hospital of Kunshan, and The People’s Hospital of Haian) for their participation in this survey. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81300668, 81530026), and the Project Funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions.
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Gu, Y., Hsu, HT., Zhu, J. et al. A systematic survey on the diagnosis strategy and patient management of type 1 diabetes by Chinese physicians. Sci. China Life Sci. 61, 318–327 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11427-017-9052-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11427-017-9052-4