Severe hypoglycaemia in drug-treated diabetic patients needs attention: a population-based study.

OBJECTIVE: To study one-year incidence and risk factors of severe hypoglycaemias (SH) in adult drug-treated diabetic patients living in two Finnish communities. DESIGN: The episodes of SH and their risk factors were identified from local ambulance registers, from the databases of local health care units, and from patient questionnaires. SETTING: The target population consisted of all drug-treated diabetic patients from the two middle-sized communities in southern Finland, altogether 1776 patients. The study was retrospective. SUBJECTS: A total of 1469 patients (82.7% of the target population) gave informed consent for the use of their medical records and 1325 patients (74.6% of the target population) returned the detailed 36-item questionnaire. RESULTS: Of type 1 and type 2 insulin-treated diabetic patients, 14.6% and 1.0%, respectively, needed ambulance or emergency room care (incidence of 30.5 and 3.0 per 100 patient years). However, 31.0% of type 1 and 12.3% of type 2 diabetic patients reported at least one episode of SH (incidence of 72.0 and 27.0 per 100 patient years). Of all insulin-treated patients, 53 (7.8%) reported three or more episodes of SH. Significant independent risk factors for SH were depression, daily exercise, and nephropathy but not glycaemic control. CONCLUSION: The incidence of SH was high in both types of insulin-treated diabetic patients. However, the recurrent episodes of SH were clustered in a small minority of insulin-treated patients with diabetes. The risk of SH should be considered when assessing the treatment target for an individual diabetic patient.

[Hypoglycemia, classification, therapy and preventable errors]. / Hypoglykämie. Klassifikation, Therapie und vermeidbare Fehler.

Hypoglycemia is a multifactorial problem that is caused by the interaction of numerous variables such as a individual pathophysiological response, treatment aspects and self control. In particular, the increasing use of intensified insulin therapy and thus the goal of normoglycemia has made hypoglycaemia to become a major hazard among the acute complications of diabetes mellitus. Early diagnosis and treatment is thus mandatory to reduce the increased morbidity and mortality of hypoglycaemia. Among the acute therapy of hypoglycaemia treatment includes a modification of diabetes therapy, patient education and a special training of hypoglycaemia awareness.

Emergency therapy of diabetic crises: insulin overdose, diabetic ketoacidosis, and hyperosmolar coma.

Three types of diabetic crises occur: insulin overdose, diabetic ketoacidosis, and hyperosmolar coma. Neurologic signs may accompany each of these syndromes, and each must be differentiated quickly by the emergency clinician so that an appropriate treatment plan can be initiated. The basic goal is to restore metabolic derangements and to stabilize the patient so that it can then be managed more routinely as an uncomplicated diabetic.

The diabetic dental patient.

DM is such a common disease in the United States that virtually every dentist encounters patients with known or undiagnosed diabetes. The dentist should be alert for both general and oral signs and symptoms suggestive of uncontrolled or poorly controlled DM, and laboratory or interoffice screening tests should be a part of dental practice. Under no circumstances, however, should the dentist attempt to diagnose the disease. Patients with suggestive symptoms or with abnormal blood glucose levels identified by screening tests should be referred to a physician for diagnosis and any treatment necessary. Uncontrolled DM may be associated with increased frequency and severity of oral infections, including periodontal disease and dental caries. In some diabetic patients, susceptibility to oral disease may continue despite establishment of effective metabolic control. Dental treatment can safely be performed on the controlled diabetic patient, but some adjustment of office protocol and of antihyperglycemic drug administration may occasionally be necessary. Finally, the dental treatment team must always be alert for signs and symptoms of developing diabetic emergencies and be prepared to provide treatment as necessary.

Reversible decerebrate posturing after profound and prolonged hypoglycemia.

Decerebrate rigidity is one of several reversible neurological abnormalities which have been observed in the setting of metabolic coma. We present the case of a patient who recovered fully from prolonged decerebrate rigidity associated with hypoglycemic coma. This case emphasizes the possibility of recovery from severe, prolonged hypoglycemia.