The inpatient service consists primarily of children with diabetes mellitus who are admitted for initiation of therapy and training at the time of diagnosis or are admitted later because of diabetes-related or other medical problems.
In addition, the inpatient service serves as a consultative service for other divisions and departments within the hospital. These patients include a wide range of disorders:
- The inpatient consultation endocrinology service works especially closely with the Department of Neurology and the Department of Neurosurgery in the management of children with pituitary/hypothalamic disorders as a result of tumors or other CNS lesions.
- The service also works closely with the Cystic Fibrosis service and Division of Allergy and Pulmonary Medicine in the management of diabetic patients with cystic fibrosis or those undergoing lung transplantation.
In addition, the clinical activities of the division include performance of various endocrine diagnostic testing procedures performed at theI nfusion Center of St. Louis Children's Hospital. These tests are planned, supervised, and subsequently interpreted by the physicians within the division.