Cardiac Arrest in Conjunction with Hypoglycemia in a Non-Diabetic Patient with Cerebral Infarction

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Hypoglycemia is uncommon in people without diabetes. There have been only a few reports of cardiac arrest in conjunction with hypoglycemia in non-diabetic patients. CASE REPORT A 66-year-old man visited the emergency room with dizziness. He was a chronic alcoholic. Laboratory test showed no evidence of diabetes mellitus. Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed a left cerebellar infarction. Abdomen computed tomography demonstrated liver cirrhosis with minimal ascites. During his hospital stay, he consumed only a small amount of food because of nausea and headache. On hospital day 4, he had a cardiac arrest after two seizure episodes. His blood glucose was 10 mg/dL. The combination of liver cirrhosis, renal failure and poor oral intake was presumed to be the causes of the severe hypoglycemia. CONCLUSION: We report a rare case of cardiac arrest occurring in conjunction with severe hypoglycemia in a non-diabetic patient with cerebral infarction.