ABSTRACT
A 17-year-old woman called her general practitioner to ask for telephone advice regarding her blood glucose management. She had been feeling unwell for the past 2 days with a flu-like illness and had experienced a significant reduction in her appetite and, consequently, her oral intake. Her main complaints were of a dry cough, feeling feverish and coryzal symptoms. The patient’s past medical history included type 1 diabetes mellitus and she used a long-acting insulin, plus boluses of a short-acting insulin to manage her glycaemic control. She was working as an apprentice in mechanics and did not drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes.
