Keywords :
Blood Glucose/metabolism; Coma/prevention & control; Diabetes Mellitus/blood/drug therapy; Dietary Sucrose/therapeutic use; Gastrointestinal Agents/therapeutic use; Glucagon/therapeutic use; Humans; Hypoglycemia/chemically induced/prevention & control; Insulin/adverse effects/blood; Sulfonylurea Compounds/adverse effects
Abstract :
[en] Severe hypoglycaemic episodes are defined as need of assistance and may progress to profound coma. They can occur in patients treated with insulin, generally for type 1 diabetes, or in patients receiving sulphonylureas, for type 2 diabetes. Diagnosis is usually obvious, at least in insulin-treated patients, and requires an urgent intervention from the entourage. Such an intervention should comprise the oral administration of carbohydrates with high-glycaemic index if consciousness allows it or, if not, the injection of glucagon. When necessary, people should ask the help of a physician who will inject hypertonic glucose intravenously. Hypoglycaemic coma related to an absolute or relative excess of insulin should, in most cases, be treated at home. In contrast, a hypoglycaemic coma due to a too high dosage of sulphonylurea always requests a hospitalisation in order to carefully supervise the patient and to provide a prolonged intravenous infusion of glucose. It is mandatory that family or entourage members of any diabetic patient at risk to develop severe hypoglycaemia receive a specific education in order to promptly apply the best treatment capable of a rapid and safe recovery from hypoglycaemic coma.
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