Stephen W. Ponder, MD: Management of Type 1 Diabetes in Pediatric Patients

In the second part of an interview with HCPLive®, Stephen W. Ponder, MD, shared his perspectives on the multidisciplinary care team in pediatric type 1 diabetes (T1D) care, potential new agents for the delay for T1D, and his idea of "sugar surfing" in diabetes treatment.

Ponder recently presented a talk entitled, "What’s New in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Care?" at the 2021 American Academy of Pediatrics Virtual Meeting.

He explained that pediatric endocrinologists do not want to replace the primary care provider, noting this is the child's medical home, but often the specialist sees the child at a much more often timeline.

"It's essential that the primary pediatrician play a role in the management of the child with diabetes, as we may take care of a lot of the diabetes related things, but the kids still need their annual physicals and any other pediatric related issues," Ponder said.

Further, he discussed the potential benefits of an agent to delay the progression of T1D, calling it the "holy grail" of the profession, particularly as someone who has lived with T1D for 56 years.

"I think that if we can even buy some time for our patients, so I'm not starting insulin pumps on two year olds, so maybe if they're now seven, or eight, and maybe a little bit older, to able to better able to manage at that age, or hopefully never, I'm all for that," Ponder said.

Additionally, he shared his perspective on technologies as effective tools in addition to knowledge on self-management and not as a panacea for patients.

"If nobody walks out with anything but one message, it would be that the technology is not, it's a complimentary therapy, it's not there to replace anything," Ponder explained.

Lastly, Ponder discussed his concept of "sugar surfing," a form of dynamic diabetes management. He authored a book of the same name to educate patients and families with T1D on continuous glucose monitoring devices to make the best self-management decisions.

"In reality, as somebody who lives with this myself and takes care of people for decades with this, it's the strength of the family unit, and how well they embrace the need for education, not just at the beginning, but in an ongoing fashion," Ponder said. "And having the ability to roll with the punches."