Abstract:

The aim of the study is to compare demographic, clinical features and precipitating factors of patients who admitted emergency department with hypoglycemic emergencies. The study was based on patients with hypoglycemia admitted to the emergency room of between 2000 and 2002 as a prospectively. In this study hypoglycemia was diagnosed by association with (1) serum glucose level of less than 50 mg/dl, (2) hypoglycemic symptoms consistent with diagnosis and (3) resolution of symptoms following glucose administration. Ages, sex, duration of hypoglycemia, hypoglycemic drug use, comorbit disease (diabetes mellitus, liver disease, sepsis, intoxication, alcohol abuse, etc.) were recorded for all patients who enrolled in to the study. Totally 68 patients with hypoglycemia were attended to emergency room between 2 years. Average ages of hypoglycemic patient were 60.5 year. Forty-seven of them were male and 21 of them were female. Nighty-two patients who were hypoglycemic patient had neuroglycopenic symptoms and 8 % who were with hyperepinephrinemic symptoms. The main cause of hypoglycemia who admitted to our emergency department was to use overdose insulin (68 %) and oral hypoglycemic agents (32 %) of diabetic treatment (89 %). The other causes of hypoglycemia were respectively ethanol intoxication (4 %), cirrhosis (2 %), sepsis (1,4 %), intoxication (1.4 %) and panhypopituitarsym (1.4 %). Prominent predisposing factor was irregularly antidiabetic drug use of all hypoglycemic patients. So all physicians who work in emergency departments should keep in mind to prescribe antidiabetic drug, the accordance between especially elderly patient and antidiabetic drug use is most important factor of diabetic hypoglycemic complications.

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