Persistent, severe hypoglycemia-induced organic brain syndrome with neurological sequelae: a case report

Hypoglycemia is a biochemical abnormality and often the rate-limiting step in the treatment of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Left uncorrected and prolonged, hypoglycemia can result in neuronal dysfunction and death, with deficits ranging from measurable cognitive impairments to aberrant behavior, seizures and coma. In this case report, hypoglycemia resulted in severe and persistent neurological (slurred speech and gait abnormalities), cognitive (inattention, disorientation and memory deficits) and behavioral manifestations (verbal hostility and irritability). It highlights the potentially severe neuropsychiatric sequelae following hypoglycemia and is timely for clinicians to be reminded that hypoglycemia prevention needs to be more of a focus of diabetes care in general.