Diabetic Emergencies: Diagnosis And Management Of Hyperglycemic Disorders

Stewart, Charles MD, FACEP
Marco, Catherine A. MD, FACEP
Mattu, Amal MD

¹Author
² Colorado Springs, CO.
³Peer Reviewers
⁴ Associate Professor, Department of Surgery, Medical College of Ohio; Attending Physician, St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center, Toledo, OH.
⁵ Director, Emergency Medicine Residency, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD.

Date of original release: February 1, 2004.

Date of most recent review: January 9, 2004.

See “Physician CME Information” on back page.

Emergency Medicine Practice 6(2):p 1-23, February 2004.

2:20 a.m.: Prehospital personnel call with a case of vomiting and altered mental status in a 9-year-old girl. The child's mother found her unconscious in bed in a pool of vomit. The child's mother notes that the child had been vomiting earlier but had consumed clear liquids for supper. She also notes that her child had recently started a diet and was doing exceptionally well at her planned weight loss; she also comments that for the past two days, her daughter kept a pitcher of water at the bedside and would wake frequently and drink. The child felt that the extra water was helping her weight loss program. The paramedics note that the child's respiratory rate is 50, she has a heart rate of 128, and her bedside glucose test measures “HHH” on their glucometer. They've been unable to obtain intravenous access in this child.