Characteristics of patients with emergency attendance for severe hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia in a general hospital in Japan.

Abstract

ABSTRACT:

Despite advances in treatments for diabetes mellitus (DM), severe acute glycemic crises still occur. In this study, the characteristics of patients who were transported to an emergency department due to acute glycemic crises were investigated.We enrolled patients who were transported to our hospital by ambulance due to hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia during the period from January 2015 to December 2019. Initial glucose levels below 70 mg/dL and above 250 mg/dL were defined as hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia, respectively.In the 5-year period, 16,910 patients were transported to our hospital by ambulance. Of those patients, 87 patients (0.51%) were diagnosed with hypoglycemia, 26 patients (0.15%) were diagnosed with hyperglycemia and 1 patient was diagnosed with lactic acidosis. Compared to patients with hypoglycemia, blood urea nitrogen, serum potassium and hemoglobin levels were higher in patients with hyperglycemia. Systolic blood pressure was lower and pulse rate was higher in patients with hyperglycemia, possibly reflecting dehydration in hyperglycemia. Patients with hyperglycemia were younger (63 vs 70 years old, median), more likely to be hospitalized (92.3% vs 23.0%) with poorer prognosis (23.1% vs 4.6%) than those with hypoglycemia. In 64 DM patients with hypoglycemia, 34 patients were treated with insulin and 24 patients were treated with sulfonylurea or glinide, and their medication was often inappropriate. Excessive alcohol intake and malnutrition were the main causes of hypoglycemia in 23 non-DM patients. The main reasons for hyperglycemia were interrupted treatment, forgetting insulin injection and infection.To avoid acute glycemic crises, optimization of anti-DM therapy and education of patients are needed.

• Authors: Keisuke Endo, Takahito Itoh, Masaya Tanno, Kouhei Ohno, Hiroyuki Hotta, Nobuo Kato, Tomoaki Matsumoto, Hitoshi Ooiwa, Hirofumi Kubo, Takayuki Miki
• Journal: Medicine (Medicine (Baltimore)) Vol. 100 Issue 25 Pg. e26505 (Jun 25 2021) ISSN: 1536-5964 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 34160469 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Observational Study)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2021 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

Chemical References

• Blood Glucose
• Glycated Hemoglobin A
• Hypoglycemic Agents
• hemoglobin A1c protein, human

Topics

• Acidosis, Lactic (blood, chemically induced, diagnosis, epidemiology)
• Aged
• Aged, 80 and over
• Alcohol Drinking (adverse effects, blood)
• Blood Glucose (analysis)
• Diabetes Mellitus (blood, drug therapy)
• Emergency Service, Hospital (statistics & numerical data)
• Female
• Glycated Hemoglobin (analysis)
• Hospitals, General (statistics & numerical data)
• Humans
• Hyperglycemia (blood, chemically induced, diagnosis, epidemiology)
• Hypoglycemia (blood, diagnosis, epidemiology, etiology)
• Hypoglycemic Agents (adverse effects)
• Japan (epidemiology)
• Male
• Malnutrition (blood, complications)
• Middle Aged
• Retrospective Studies