March 26 is American Diabetes Association (ADA) Alert Day. Each year on the fourth Tuesday of March, the ADA calls attention to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) prevalence in the US and encourages the public to take its Type 2 Diabetes Risk Test. The test is free, anonymous, and takes just 60 seconds to complete. With questions about family history and activity level, the test assesses the risk of T2DM for those who take it. Find the test at http://www.diabetes.org/are-you-at-risk/alert-day, and share with your patients, friends, and family.
Because our risk for T2DM can change as we age, it is important to remind everyone to retake the test each year. Explain to your patients the importance of scheduling regular exams with their primary care provider, as this is the best way to detect the early signs of diabetes and begin preventing or delaying the disease's development.
Critical care nurses know that untreated diabetes can have serious health consequences. Acute hyperglycemic emergencies: Diabetic ketoacidosis and hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state (p. 10) addresses the diagnosis of, various treatments for, and nursing considerations associated with these two acute hyperglycemic emergencies.
This issue also includes a feature on a new treatment option for patients with certain types of advanced or recurrent acute lymphoblastic leukemia and certain types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Nursing management for adult recipients of CAR T-19 therapy (p. 31) explains how newly FDA-approved tisagenlecleucel and axicabtagene ciloleucel can help genetically enhance a patient's T cells to destroy cancer cells and how critical care nurses can help recognize and manage the dangerous potential adverse reactions associated with this new treatment, including cytokine release syndrome and CAR T-cell-related encephalopathy syndrome. Head to http://www.nursingcriticalcare.com for bonus content on the immune response.
Also in this issue, I encourage readers to take the Nursing2019 Skin and wound care survey (p. 38) for the chance to win an iPad Mini. Blinded data gleaned from this survey will be used in a forthcoming article in Nursing2019 to reflect the state of practice in this important area.
Much of critical care nurses' time is devoted to caring for patients with critical illnesses, but imagine how different patient health outcomes would be if more emphasis was placed on preventive care. Remind patients this month that it never hurts to know their risk for diabetes. Knowledge is the first step to successful disease prevention and management.
Haley K. McKinney, MBA
Associate Editor Nursing2019 Critical Care Health Learning, Research & Practice Wolters Kluwer Philadelphia, PA