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Published on: June 11, 2012
Hypoglycemia and cardiac arrest in a critically ill patient on strict glycemic control
Anuj Bhatia1, Brit Cadman, Iain Mackenzie
1Department of Anaesthesia and John V. Farman Intensive Care Unit, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 2QQ, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
Glycemic control in critically ill patients has become a subject of considerable interest since the publication of studies showing reduced morbidity and mortality in patients when blood glucose was maintained within a relatively low and narrow range (4.4 to 6.1 mM/L). We describe a patient who developed cardiac asystole while being given a concentrated glucose solution to treat severe hypoglycemia after administration of insulin. The mechanism in this patient appears to be hyperkalemia from the rapid administration of a concentrated glucose solution.
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