42
144.
The WHO has indicated that the treatment of diabetes 343 “involves lowering blood glucose
and the levels of other known risk factors that damage blood vessels.” Among the interventions that “are both
cost saving and feasible in developing countries” the WHO recommends : (i) moderate blood glucose control;
(ii) and blood pressure control; (iii) foot care; (iv) screening and treatment for retinopathy (which causes
blindness); (v) blood lipid control (to regulate cholesterol levels); (vi) screening for early signs of diabetesrelated kidney disease.”344 The WHO has made concrete recommendations for treating this disease, which
include physical activity and an appropriate diet. 345
145. The IACHR notes that at the various hearings on the incidental motions filed, doctors offered
the Judge their opinions on the treatment that Ms. Chinchilla required. According to all the doctors’
statements given, that treatment involved: (i) periodic sugar control, ophthalmological monitoring, kidney
monitoring, control of irrigation in lower limb, and cardiovascular checkups; (ii) verification of the times she
took her medicine, help moving her, access to medical equipment and access to medicine; (iii) intramuscular
insulin injections; (iv) special equipment for ketoacidosis in the event of a diabetic coma; and (v) examination
by an endocrinologist.346 For her part, one of the COF nurses said that Ms. Chinchilla needed someone “very
special to be with her 24 hours a day and attend to her personally, which they could not do because they had
to see to the rest of the prison population.” The report of Dr. Edna Edna Erika Vaquerano Martínez, which was
put forward by the petitioners and not challenged by the State, also refers to the treatment that Ms. Chinchilla
should have received.347
146. In the present case, the medical examiner from the Public Prosecution Service as well as the
doctor from San Juan de Dios General Hospital and the judiciary medical examiner all said that they were not
familiar with the facilities of the COF, the specific medical treatment that she received at the center, and the
World
Health
Organization,
Diabetes.
Fact
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs312/en/
sheet
No.
312.
September
2012.
Available
at:
342
World Health Organization, A Global Brief on Hypertension, World Health Day 2013, p. 24. Available at:
http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/79059/1/WHO_DCO_WHD_2013.2_eng.pdf
343
Which it has defined as a chronic disease that occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or
when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces World Health Organization, Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of
Chronic Diseases. Report of a Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation. WHO Technical Report Series 916. Geneva 2003, p. 79.
Available at: http://whqlibdoc.who.int/trs/who_trs_916.pdf
344
World Health Organization, Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases. Report of a Joint WHO/FAO
Expert Consultation. WHO Technical Report Series 916. Geneva 2003, p. 79.
Available at:
http://whqlibdoc.who.int/trs/who_trs_916.pdf
345
Among the WHO recommendations for people with diabetes are the following: (i) Practising an endurance activity
at moderate or greater level of intensity (e.g. brisk walking) for one hour or more per day on most days per week; (ii) Ensuring
that saturated fat intake does not exceed 10% of total energy and for high-risk groups, fat intake should be <7% of total energy;
Achieving adequate intakes of NSP through regular consumption of wholegrain cereals, legumes, fruits and vegetables. A
minimum daily intake of 20 g is recommended. World Health Organization, Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic
Diseases. Report of a Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation. WHO Technical Report Series 916. Geneva 2003, p. 77.
346
See in this connection the statements made by medical experts at the hearings of August 29, 2003 and April 21,
2004
347
According to this report, ... a person with diabetes must undergo clinical evaluation, including laboratory tests
(glucose pre- and post-prandial [before and after eating]) carried out regularly, preferably fortnightly or monthly, in addition to
laboratory tests to examine their urine, blood chemistry, and kidney, pancreas, liver functions, etc., since diabetes is a rapidly
evolving disease that affects several of the body’s systems.
... High blood pressure ... She should have been constantly reexamined in view of the terminal occlusive
arteriosclerotic disease that she had in her lower limbs, as this increased the risk of deep vein thrombosis that might cause a
cardiac or pulmonary embolism. An electrocardiogram performed monthly as well as blood pressure readings every 48 hours
are the indicated preventive treatments. Appendix to the petitioners brief received on April 18, 2006.