New onset diabetes after transplantation: a proposed surveillance blood sugar monitoring system by the renal transplant nurse practitioner.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) in the renal transplant population is becoming a major concern and cardiovascular disease due to diabetes is the most common long-term effect of kidney transplantation. Diabetes, if not treated and managed effectively post-transplant, can lead to devastating consequences with increased graft and recipient loss. Clearly this increasing emergence of diabetes post-transplant points to a strong need for early identification so effective management can be implemented. This paper identifies why there is an increased risk of diabetes in the post-transplant population, what clinical gaps exists in identifying and diagnosing these patients, what the current recommendations are to manage this chronic illness and how the introduction of a nurse practitioner can fill this gap within their scope of practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]